Characteristics of a Good Report

• A well-written report “tells a story”. A report must answer the following questions: who, what, when, where, why, how and how much.

• Facts is stated accurately

• Explain the regulations and apply it to the facts.

• Report must stand alone

• List the interviews and documentation you reviewed in the report.

• Provide responsible authority the information they need to get a fair decision.

• A report must be complete

• Address all allegations and emerging allegations during the investigation.

• Explain how you addressed these allegations.

• Discuss all evidence

• Thoroughly discuss and analyze the rule and regulations pertaining to the investigations.


• A report must be clear and logical. A person that has no knowledge of the case must be able to understand how you reached your conclusion.

• Use direct and clear language.

• Present all information in a logical manner (from facts to conclusion)

• You must convince the reader that you r conclusion are supported by the facts you gathered.

• Make a clear distinction between facts, assumptions, conclusions and
opinions.

• Avoid emotional, judgmental or value-laden words.

• Use a simple, direct approach.

Common Report Writing Mistakes

• Completeness: Failing to have all its parts an support as expected in the report format

• Independence: Not enough information to help the reader understand it by oneself.

• Timeliness: Reports that are given in later than expected.


• Accountability: Failing to deliver according to specific disciplinary actions for subjects. Facts that are incorrectly used or in the inappropriate format and sentences.

• Forwarding the report: Failing to use the Post-Investigation checklist to conduct a quality review of the report before forwarding it to the authority.

Report Writing

• A report is a formal statement of the result of an investigation.

• In academic writing there are two main types of reports;
o Investigation report (e.g. case study)
o Evidence based report (e.g. evaluation report)

• You must know the purpose of the report.

• Is it a case study report for an ethnographic research report?

• Is it an investigation or an evaluation about something?

• Is it an assignment for your course?

• Must know who will be reading the report and why; because it will clarify the purpose of the report to you and to identify an appropriate form.

• Is it intended to shed light, and if so the findings from the data evidence is crucial.

• Is it reporting on something observed, and if so the findings will relate to conclusions and possibly recommendations.

• What is the report subject or focus, title or question?

• Describe your research in several sentences to define your focus.

• What are the main questions that define your research?

• Draft several working titles and choose the one which will help you keep to the point.

• In an observation report you have to make recommendations and check your focus with them.

• In an investigative report you need to know whether, your findings based on data analyses, what your aims or rationale are and whom your key authorities are.

• Make sure of what guidelines or information have been given for the report.

• Planning is crucial, experiment with the most logical order of presenting the information you have collected.


• There is 5 stages of a report:
o Introduction
o Methods
o Research
o Summary (abstract) and
o Discussion

• The 4 stages of writing a report:
o Outlining
o Drafting
o Revising and editing
o Presentation

• Make sure that your:
o Introduction still reflect on your findings
o Aims are rationale
o Literature review support your arguments
o Bibliography and references is up to date
o Methodology is used correctly
o Results in findings should be presented in a way that draws the readers attention
o Discussion includes conclusions and recommendations/ evaluations

• Structure of a report:
o Title – avoid overlong and snappy or newspaper style titles.
o Contents – useful for lengthy reports.
o Summary / abstract – usually written after initial draft on main report.
o Introduction – is the problem or issue that is the subject of the project.
o Main Body includes – Purpose, Literature review, Methodology / data collection, what you found out and discussion.
o Conclusions – what your conclusion is,
o Bibliographical references – List of material used in the report.
o Acknowledgements – mention people who helped you
o Appendixes – extra material which you referred to
o Glossary –
• Linguistic feature of report writing:
o Topic sentences
o Tense
o Cohesion
o Acronyms

• The main consideration for both style and language is clarity.

Visual Aids for Reports

Visual aids help to make a report more attractive and exciting to read. A visual aid helps to express the image that you want to create with the data. This can also enhance or clarify the explanation of the report. Different types of visual aids can be used for the type of you report image you want to create.
Visual aids help the reader understand the case. They are especially helpful when there are multiple witnesses, events or other complex relationships involved.

The visual aids that can be used to make a report more presentable are:

• Time flow diagrams: to show the chronological flow of events.
Interview memoranda constitute the bulk of the investigative report. Upon completion of the investigation, it is necessary for the examiner only to assemble the notes in order, prepare an index, list of exhibits and a synopsis in order to complete the paperwork. Clear and concise language is the hallmark of a good memorandum of interview. Avoid using the third person, that is, “the interviewer” instead of “I”. Also, don’t use stilted or pretentious wording.

• Matrix diagram: to illustrate the association of persons or things.
In addition to the facts of the case, fraud examiners should include several other items in the memorandum of interview that can help to make the visual aid more effective and complete.
Such as:
The witness’s name and contact information.
The investigator’s identity
Evidence provided, such as documents
A statement that the interview was voluntary
The date of the interview
The date the memorandum was prepared
How the interview was conducted (ie. In person or by phone)
If the interview was tape-recorded.

• Charts:
o Column chart: it is a good way to make data visual so that one can clearly see where values differ from one another.
o Line chart: In some cases you don’t just want a direct visual of data, but especially know where values have changed over a time period.
o Circle chart: can be used when you want to see which part each item makes out in total.


• Maps: can be used to illustrate the geographical position where certain events occurred. You can link a series of events and see what they all have in common or where a certain hot spot is.

• Building plans: can be used to illustrate place of events within a building. You can then have clarity of what is where or to see if the witnesses statement given is truthful and in accordance.

• Drawings/sketches: can be used to illustrate position of persons, items where crime took place. A simple drawing can be used to identify certain characteristics that can be useful for explaining the image you want people to understand.

• Video presentation: this can help the people to visualize the occurrences in the format that it happened. Videotape electronically carries both a picture and a sound track. Its features of sound, movement, vivid image, color, and variety hold an audience's attention the way film does. Videotape can be used to program an entire presentation, or to support a speaker's remarks by highlighting certain topics. By using this visual, it helps people to understand the situation with more ease.

• Photos: Actual pictures taken at the scene of the crime can help to put it all together. Photos will visualize what the data is saying and then it is easier to understand and to interpret for oneself.

• Posters: are prepared graphic devices that can be made of a variety of materials and media - photographs, diagrams, graphs, word messages, or a combination of these. Each poster should contain one message or theme. Words, charts, diagrams, and other symbols must be penned in a large enough size to be seen by everyone in the room.

• Organization chart: can be used to illustrate hierarchical relationships, such as department managers and employees within a company. You can organize all your data into headings, subheadings so that it can be easy understandable and neat. The audience will then be able to see the whole report clearly and understand how everything fits in where.

Difference Between an Audit Report and a Fraud Report

• Audit report is a typically read by company’s board of directors, its shareholders and / or lenders.
• A fraud report may be shared with company insiders, attorneys, defendants and witnesses, judges, juries and the media.


• A report concerning a fraud examination provides details of an alleged crime or tort.
• The primary purpose of a fraud report is to communicate the results of a fraud investigation and to document the work actually preformed.

Important Considerations for the Well Written Report

• Do not clutter your presentation because this will make the audience lose focus on what is important. Cluttering confuses the audience and promotes them to miss the point of the presentation. Keep the presentation as tidy as possible and split up the presentation in more groups to avoid confusions and make it easy readable.

• Use 1.5 spacing to make the presentation easy readable and trim. Using the spacing will make the audience read the report faster and follow the text comfortably.

• Avoid technical jargon to assure that everyone will understand the report. Not everyone will understand your terminology or slang and this barbarous or debased language might give the wrong impression and cause a misunderstanding.

• Avoid too many “big” words for this makes the report difficult to read or to understand. This causes a loss of time because the reader will have to look the words up. This can also cause a misunderstanding because the word may have more than one meaning in different aspects than the reader is familiar with.

• Visual aids make a report more attractive and exciting to read. A visual aid helps to express the image that you want to create with the data. This can also enhance or clarify the explanation of the report.


• Use colours where possible to highlight certain facts that you wish to be noted as important. Colours make a report more interesting and helpful for browsing headings or specific data.

• Charts are more effective than a wordy description for it leads to an easy understandable visual representation of the data. Charts help to analyse and interpret data and to provide an effective dynamic way to show patterns which you can compare or come to certain conclusions.

• Cross reference facts to source to facilitate reading and checking. This professionalizes your report and the reader will see that you have done your homework. This also allows the reader to verify the facts for themselves. The cross referenced facts to source confirms that the information in the report are based on something that is not made up.

• The reviewer must be critical in order to judge the report fairly. The mistakes must be pointed out so that the writer will be educated and correct faults in the future.

• The reviewer must ensure that the mandate has been satisfied and that the order has been done correct. The command must be done in accordance to what was expected of you.

Staff Vetting

If an organization is to prevent fraud successfully it must have effective policies that minimize the chance of hiring or promoting individuals with low levels of honesty, especially for position of trust.

Pro active procedures should include the following, before appointing any employee:

• Conduct a background investigation on the individual who apply for employment or for promoting to a position of trust.
• Thoroughly checking a candidate’s education, employment history and personal references.

These above procedures are also known as staff vetting, which means that all applicants are screened thoroughly before employment is offered.


The following should be checked as part of the screening process:

• references,
• criminal records,
• civil records,
• disciplinary records,
• insolvency,
• other businesses,
• qualifications – CV audit,
• technical competence,
• psychometric testing.

These preventive measures, however time consuming and costly, would assist them in appointing the correct candidate.

Who will Commit Fraud, and Why?

Most people will not commit fraud, because in society we assume that people we first meet are always honest and that there are more honest than dishonest people. Fraud does not differentiate between the rich or poor in any society.

There are many factors that contribute to people wanting to commit fraud, such as:

• Low self-esteem.
• Personal background and experiences while growing up.
• Pier pressure on individual.
• Substance abusers.
• People living with financial pressure.


Five common reasons for employee crimes:

• The employee feel some frustration about some aspect of his/her job or
• Personal life that is not job related.
• The employee wants to get even with his employer because he/she feels abused in the work place.
• The organisation’s internal controls are so poor that employee’s is tempted to steel.
• Employees today are morally, ethically and spiritually bankrupt.

How to Create and Maintain a Culture of Honesty and Sound Ethics

• Creating and maintaining a culture of honesty and sound ethics

- Setting the tone at the top: It is important for top management to lead by example
- Creating a positive work environment: To enhance employee well being, productivity and job satisfaction
- Hiring and promoting appropriate employees: Implement proactive and pre employment vetting procedures.
- Raining: All new appointees to under go organization’s induction course, and where applicable receive additional or refresher training.
- Confirmation: Managers must let the employee know their accountability and responsibilities.
- Discipline: Regular communication via different forms of media about consequences of committing wrong doings and fraud.


• Evaluating antifraud process and control

- Identifying and measuring fraud risk: It is the primary responsibility of management to establish and monitor all aspects of the organisation’s fraud risk assessment and prevention activities.
- Mitigating fraud risk: Streamline organisation’s activities and processes in order to reduce or eliminate certain fraud risks.
- Implementing and monitoring appropriate internal control: Identify the processes, controls and other procedures that are required to moderate the identified risks and implement appropriate monitoring controls.

• Developing and appropriate oversight process

- An organisation should have an appropriate external and internal oversight function in place to deter or prevent fraud effectively.

The Responsibility of Management in the Prevention of Fraud

• Set moral environment in which the organization function.

• Make available resources for the organization to accomplish its plans and follows its policies.


• Establish and maintain internal controls.

• Determine appropriate cost versus control ratio (exposure – safeguard =risks).

• Keep everyone up to date within the organization as to the current and daily status of the organization.

Five Different Forms of Fraud

• Cash Fraud – Skimming: Cash is removed from organization before transaction is recorded in the accounting systems.

• Cheque Fraud – Stopped cheque: Bearer pays for goods by cheque, which is accepted in good faith or has been authorized/cleared by the bank and once the goods are in their possession, the bearer stop the cheque before the transfer can take place.


• Procurement Fraud – False invoices: False invoicing, nondelivery of purchased goods.

• Computer Fraud - Computer programmes and data are changed without authorisation to the benefit of the perpetrator or detriment of the company.

• Payroll Fraud - “Ghost” workers: Fictitious employees on the payroll

Five Forms of Commercial Crime:

• Kiting: This is the process whereby cash, which is either nonexistent or in transit, is moved between several bank accounts.

• Skimming: Cash is removed from organization before transaction is recorded in the accounting systems.

• Misappropriation of funds: If one employee is responsible for collecting and depositing cash and then removes funds from the organization for their own use then conceals the theft through the deposits by destroying the cash receipts.


• False endorsements: This is whereby cheques are not properly cross and this gives an opportunity for staff to steal the cheques and endorse it on the back, to either have the cheque cashed or deposited into another account.

• Forging a signature on stolen cheques: Blank cheques are stolen from an organization and then used fraudulently by others such that original owner of the cheque or bank suffers a lost.

Reasons for Managers to Commit Fraud

1. Incompetent managers may deceive to survive. Good manager keep abreast of change. In Mr Knowsome case there is computerised inventory control system that is not yet been installed by him because he believes that this would only increase his workload.

2. Profit centre may distort facts to hold off divestment. Mr Knowsome is three months late with his monthly reports. It can be that he is trying to distort financial figures in order to retain his position.

3. Performance may be distorted to warrant lager bonuses. It is also known that Mr Knowsome is working a lot of overtime to keep the creditors system, the bank reconciliation and inventory system of the branch up to date, despite sufficient stuff.


4. The need to succeed can turn manager to deception. When ambition and self-advancement are more important than solid accomplishment, some mangers will betray the stewardship pf the resources entrusted to them.

5. Profits may be inflated to obtain advantages in the marketplace. The financial officers who want their organisation’s stock to make a splash in the market to cash in stock options, or seek to obtain unwarranted credit lines, may inflate profits unfairly.

6. Organisations publicise estimates of future sales level, marker share, income and stock performance to the financial market. When any of these performance measures cannot be reached, aggressive accounting is in use to achieve the required result.

Four Common Reactions to Fraud

Good: Some fraudsters may feel good because they think they have beaten the organisation’s system and got away with it.

Indifferent: Some fraudsters will have an indifferent feeling, those who have a indifferent feeling are not likely to talk about their feats or brag to anyone, they will also show no behaviour peculiarities.


Guilty: Some fraudsters will have feelings of guilt. Conscientious employees, particularly those with strong and stable family backgrounds, those who have strong religious convictions. These employees are more likely not to talk to anyone about their deed. This will increase their stress levels, which will manifest in changing behaviour patterns.

Fear: Those who fear discovery will not brag about their exploits. They will not display constant or regular behaviour peculiarities, but they will react strongly to specific circumstances, especially when they think that they are on the verge of being discovered.