Fraud-sense;

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HASKINS & SELLS
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VOL. IX NEW YORK, MAY, 1926 No. 5
WO M E N frequently are credited with
having intuition. Many persons
are said to be endowed with a sense of
direction. Some accountants are thought
to have what sometimes is called "fraud-sense."
Science as yet has neither proved nor
disproved the existence of intuition in
women. Probably the judgment of women,
which often through native shrewdness
they permit to be taken for intuition, is
the result rather of knowledge and ex­perience
combined with quick reasoning.
In the same way many persons who re­ceive
credit for having a sense of direction
have learned to fix the points of the com­pass,
to consider the position of the sun,
and to remember certain landmarks which
guide them in their travels.
Doubt well may be expressed that there
is any such thing as congenital fraud-sense.
Probably it is acquired and developed in
some individuals more easily than in
others. Human nature is such that cer­tain
types of persons are trustful, even
gullible, while others naturally are sus­picious
and unconvinced by anything
short of absolute proof. For the former
there is little hope of success in the inves­tigation
of fraud. The latter take to the
work quickly and at times produce some
uncanny results.
The fraud-sense which such persons have,
probably is not a simple attribute with
which they are endowed at birth. Rather,
it is an ability which has been developed
by a combination of native shrewdness,
knowledge, experience, observation of hu­man
behavior, and a determination not
to be convinced except by sound proof.
If ability to unearth fraud had to be
confined to a chosen few, the successful
practice of accountancy on a large scale
would be somewhat discouraging. Through
research and scientific investigation
the possibilities of fraud perpetration
and concealment and the indications of,
fraud existence can be determined. The
accountant of average intelligence who is
willing to study the results and learn to
recognize the signs when he sees them,
may aspire to success in the field of fraud-detection.
If he is quick-witted and as­tute
naturally the task will be easier. If
he believes everything everyone tells him,
he is doomed to failure and the penalty
which inevitably follows.
Fraud-sense is within the grasp of every
accountant. It can be developed. It may
have to be born of investigativeness and
suspicion. But it can be reared success­fully
by utilizing the results of research,
experience and observation, and by in­sisting
on the production of satisfactory
evidence to support all representations
made.
Fraud-Sense