Kaufman Rossin’s Craig Hirsch Talks to Hollywood Hills High School Students About the Connection Between Cheating in School and Corporate Fraud

The typical organization is estimated to lose five percent of its annual revenue per year to fraud, and Kaufman Rossin’s Craig Hirsch, a manager in the firm’s Forensic and Regulatory Compliance consulting practice, believes the root of the problem may start in school. Hirsch recently spoke to students at Hollywood Hills High School about the surprising ways in which cheating among students may be correlated to corporate fraud.

In his presentation, Hirsch noted that while fraud is a clear problem in business today, cheating in school is also a growing epidemic with 75 to 98 percent of college students admitting to having cheated in academics, compared to only 20 percent in 1940.  He explained that the relationship between student and corporate cheaters can be seen through what he defined as the “fraud triangle” involving three primary issues affecting both groups: pressures, rationalizations and opportunities. For example, Hirsch explained, student pressures, including the desire to obtain high scores and please parents’ expectations, are often similar to the pressure adults feel in the workplace.

“As teenagers we look over cheating and stealing, but don’t realize that our actions can lead to bad habits in the future,” commented Samantha, Hollywood Hills High School student.

Hirsch concluded his presentation by explaining to the students how the behavior patterns they exhibit in their current lives may be an indication, good or bad, of their actions when they enter corporate America.

To see more insight into Hirsch’s speech, visit Kaufman, Rossin’s blog at www.seebeyondthenumbers.com. Interested in having Craig Hirsch speak to your class or company?  Send an email to Michael Simmons at msimmons@kaufmanrossin.com.

About Kaufman Rossin

Kaufman Rossin maintains offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton.  The firm has represented Florida businesses for nearly 50 years, and serves international clients in more than three dozen countries. It offers a complete array of traditional accounting services, as well as consulting services specially tailored to clients’ needs.  The firm has been named one of the Best Accounting Firms to work for in an independent survey sponsored by Accounting Today.  With 300 members, the firm is large enough to provide versatility, but able to render the personal service upon which its reputation is based. For more information, visit www.kaufmanrossin.com.