He’s somber but highly approachable, as he tells tales of dishonest employees who damage an organization financially – bringing some to bankruptcy. He is a fraud speaker. Zane Kinney is a certified fraud examiner and Atlanta private investigator. He spreads a gospel to groups on the importance of fraud prevention and detection but concedes so many today, would rather hear something upbeat. “Certainly, it’s not a feel-good topic. But, if I can convince one organization to implement at least some anti-fraud methods, it’s worth it.”
He avoids a speaker persona of being an entertainer. Instead, he chooses to be a teacher and persuader for all to take action. He gives real life examples. By using actual stories, he says, the audience better connects. When speaking to executives, he often sends a message they don’t wish to hear. “If you’re establishing or promoting workplace honesty and you as a leader have integrity issues, it will never work. Your organization will see through it and never adapt in a healthy way.” He goes on to say that if executives engage in personal misconduct, unrelated to the financials, they still won’t be taken seriously. Even if this does exist, he says there are ways to overcome it and become stronger.
As he gives examples of once trustworthy employees who take advantage of their employer, he is often asked if trust is even possible. He cheerfully answers, “Trust is fine and quite necessary. Paranoia will not serve you. What we must do is have an effective top-down message, consistency, blended with a number of steps for early detection and deterrence.”
He says that small businesses suffer the most but large organizations can miscalculate as well. “A colleague of mine and I responded to an internal fraud matter involving an entity everyone would know. We were both shocked that basic controls were lacking.” He mentions that fast growing organizations may fail to put in rudimentary processes until they are first victimized. Even those who have good controls in place, once experiencing embezzlement, may sadly be victimized again. “There is a sense if it happened once, it won’t again. A company may address one vulnerability, while a canyon of risks exists elsewhere.”
He promotes the use of third-party fraud risk assessments to give a fresh perspective. Occupational fraud evolves and takes on different forms so it’s important to current on the latest trends. When asked if fraud speaking engagements results in business opportunities, he candidly responds, “I’m more about the education piece than promotion of a service. I’ve had attendees approach me and remark how much they learned or contact me later with a question. When that happens, I know a message landed.” He adds that that hearing fraud speakers, could save their business.