Conference Overview & Background

Financial Fraud is the art of deliberate deception for unlawful gain. Fraud schemes have become a complex concern for many governments, public service and private organizations. Every public and private organization continue to encounter some kind of risk of financial loss due to fraud. Auditors, both external and internal, must have a thorough knowledge of fraud detection and prevention to effectively fulfill their mission.

Fraud is an art with bad old history. However, the rise of new fraud trends and risks in public, private and financial organizations is alarming society than ever before. Increasing number of Financial Frauds and White-Collar Crimes has hit most of the Southern African Companies, Financial Institutions and Government. This trend has become an area of serious concern for all stake holders. This in turn has placed pressure on the roles Forensic Accountants and Internal Auditors to detect, analyse and prevent and kinds of fraud. The focus has now shifted to being proactive rather than reactive.

As the global economy frequently face financial and economic recessions with most national economies encountering declined coupled with the increasing unemployment rates that has severely affected graduates, particularly in Southern Africa, new fraud strategies and threats have emerged. When economic survival is threatened (either for the organisation or for the individual), the line separating acceptable and unacceptable behavior can, for some, become blurred.

In addition, fraud and other types of economic crime have become a focus of criminal activity in recent years. However, criminal organisations and individuals that profit from fraud view the current economic conditions as an opportunity and not a threat. While the private sector has to date borne the brunt of economic hardship, globally, the public sector has now than before set to undergo a period of significantly reduced spending, financial strain and a serious prevention of fraud and corruption. In Namibia, this is reflected in the new Public Procurement Act, 2015 (No. 15 of 2015) and the planned Procurement System.

The National Institute of Technology (Pty) Ltd (NIT) is pleased to host the conference on Forensic Accounting and Auditing (FAAC) with the theme “Modern Strategies for Investigating, Detecting and Preventing Fraud”.

The conference will provide an opportunity for delegates to share strategies for scrutinizing different types of fraud and associated integrity risks. The conference will also explore the root causes of the increasing rates of economic fraud and the way in which they affect organisations worldwide.

There is an increasing focus on improving the quality of public financial management, financial controls and spending around the globe, with many countries making important and impressive achievements in strengthening fraud prevention, public financial management and governance. Nonetheless, much still remains to be done. In Namibia and some other Southern African countries, the public sector landscape is rapidly changing with an increasing emphasis on fiscal management and discipline, corruption and fraud prevention and prioritisation of expenditure and value for money. Consequently, it is critical that all the Accounting and Auditing Practitioners working in the public service, private sectors, Donor Funders, Financial Institutions, work together in partnership to achieve long-lasting improvements, transparency and accountability in fraud prevention and prudent financial management.

Conference Aims and Objectives

In recognition of the above, the National Institute of Technology (NIT) is pleased to invite you to “the GCGTACC 2016: Good Corporate Governance, Transparency and Anti-Corruption Conference”. The conference will also showcase current Corporate governance models and practices, as well as the next generation of issues that business leaders and society will face. It will gather high-level government officials and representatives, business leaders, experts from the business community, civil society, non-profit and community based organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders. It provides a platform for the sharing of expectations, aspirations and responsibilities. We want to bring together representatives from various parts of the country and other Southern African countries to share their experiences, challenges and opportunities.

Presentations, workshops and dialogue sessions will highlight state of the art topics and how corporate governance, transparency and corruption issues are being addressed around the country and in other parts of world. In addition, the conference aims to develop new frameworks, tools and techniques essential for the integration of socially responsible management in business operations, in an effort to achieve sustainability at all levels of business management. Specifically, the conference will seek to attain the following outcomes:

• Recognise and comprehend the Good Governance and ethical frameworks applicable to the functions of your establishment in your country towards which your organization must align its own policies and procedures
• Understand how Poor Corporate Governance of your organization whether; Ministry, Regional, Town and Village Council, Hospital, Learning Institution, etc. can bleed into poor organizational performance, disorganisation and worse still corrupt practices that are costly to eliminate
• Analyse the impact of corruption on public value and benefit, whilst identifying the key challenges in promoting and administering good corporate governance, ethics and integrity within the public sector
• Demonstrate an understanding of corruption and misconduct from both a comparative / historical and domestic / international context
• Apply theoretical perspectives to the understanding of why corruption and misconduct can arise apply and evaluate different approaches for addressing integrity assurance and corruption prevention
• Strategize on how to build resilience within an anti-corruption or integrity assurance work environment
• Understand and apply management strategies to corruption and integrity issues.
• Adopt the appropriate mechanism for effective governance
• Value the shareholder and stakeholder rights and responsibilities
• Adhere to sound principles of direction and management
• Understand the significance of audit committee, its composition and responsibilities
• Implement best practices on corporate management
• Understand current developments in corporate governance and its environment: an overview of the legal structure of corporate governance; theories of corporate governance
• Comparative dimensions of corporate governance: global convergence or path dependence

Conference Topics/Sessions

The following is a list of the proposed Conference Topics which are envisaged to be covered through a series of conference sessions, panel discussions and group discussions:

1. Overview on Fraud Risk Management (FRM) Concepts
2. Internal Audit Independence in the Public Sector
3. Forensic Accounting: A Tool for Fraud Crime and Corruption Detection and Prevention in the Public Sector
4. Procurement Fraud in the Public Sector
5. Forensic Audit as a Tool to Prevent & Detect Financial Frauds
6. Responsibilities of Forensic Accountants
7. Impact of Information Technology and automation on FRM
8. Pro Active Fraud Detection
9. Implementing Internal Controls for Fraud Prevention
10. Influence of Intellectual Property (IP)
11. Fraud Risks and the Investigation Process
12. Fraud and Corruption – Prevention, Detection and Response
13. Preventing Fraud and Corruption before it happens – Challenges and Initiatives
14. Getting Organisational Engagement to Combat Fraud and Corruption
15. Turning data into information – optimising the power of data analytics
16. Enhancing collaboration and information sharing between organisations
17. Fighting Corruption with a positive Culture
18. Keynote Address: Working with external bodies to manage fraud and corruption
19. An inside view on the life of a fraudster – Fraud a quick fix which leads to long term pain
20. Leveraging compliance solutions to forestall fraud and corruption
21. Developing robust and proactive detection and early intervention strategies
22. Engendering cultural change for a misconduct resistant organisation
23. Combating technology related fraud in a digital age
24. Conducting effective investigation to disclose fraudulent and corrupt activity
25. Practices to Prevent Procurement Fraud and Corruption in Public Service

Benefits of Attending this Conference

This Conference is more than a chance to effectively investigate, detect, analyse and prevent all types of Fraud and Corruption in public and private sectors.

The Conference on Forensic Accounting and Auditing (FAAC) 2016 is a stimulating and vibrant event with some great benefits. Among others, the FAAC 2016 specifically presents the following benefits to the delegates and stakeholders:

• Gain insight from experts in the field into the way fraud is evolving and hear about the latest developments in anti-fraud efforts to keep pace
• Learn the latest in fraud news, interviews and investigations to help you develop and strengthen your anti-fraud programme
• Explore best practices from top companies and government organisations
• Expand your professional network with contacts that can aid your future fraud investigations
• Evaluate the latest anti-fraud tools and services from cutting-edge vendors
• Explore and discuss the latest trends and developments in Forensic Accounting & Auditing.
• Gain skills on how to plan and execute Fraud and Corruption assignments
• Tap up great construction business leads that will generate employment opportunities to other citizens
• Gain an understanding of major Procurement Act with a focus on Tendering requirements and strategies that win tenders
• Networking with other participants as well as with the Speakers
• Learn how to manage unexpected and difficult Fraud and Corruption situations

Who Should Attend

This forum is ideally suited for everyone involved in Forensic Accounting, Forensic Auditing, Procurement, Financial, Economic and Corporate Fraud Investigation, Analysis, Detection and Prevention, Data Analysis, etc. from Public Service and Private sectors including but not limited to the:

• Government Line Ministries
• Government Agencies
• Regional Councils
• Town Councils
• Village Councils
• State Owned Enterprises
• Financial Institutions
• Insurance Organizations
• Medical Funds
• Certified Fraud Examiners and other anti-fraud specialists
• Forensic accountants
• Information technology and IT security professionals
• Internal and independent auditors
• Law enforcement officers and private investigators
• Security and loss prevention professionals
• Governance, risk and compliance professionals
• Experienced professionals seeking to complement existing experience with the knowledge of leading anti-fraud professionals
• Accounting Office Bearers at all levels
• Internal Auditors at all levels
• External Auditors
• Law Enforcement Practitioners at all levels
• Legal Practitioners
• Company Secretaries
• Internal Audit Committees
• Tender Board Members
• Academics and Researchers
• Anyone interested to attend

Registration Procedures

To register, down the Registration form, complete it and e-mail or fax it back with proof of payment before 29th August 2016 to:

The Conference Organizing Committee Contact Person: Mr. Frederick Chizu Simpungwe; E-mail: info@nit-edu.org
Fax No.: +264 886559294 Cell:+264 81 3294977

Conference Attendance Fees: Conference Registration made & paid for 6 and more Delegates $3,995 per delegate Registrations made & confirmed in writing for 1 to 5 Delegates N$4,995 per delegate

Late Registration Fee: Late Registration fee if registration is made after 29th August 2016 N$1,000 per delegate

Sponsorship and Exhibition Opportunities: Organizations and/or individuals with interest to sponsor or exhibit at this important conference must contact our CEO’s office on info@nit-edu.org

Conference Brochure…

Conference Registration Agreement Form….