Field note
What to Prepare Before a Fraud Review Begins
Most delay in a fraud review is not analytical. It is waiting for bank PDFs, vendor contracts, or the person who knows where the shared drive lives. A short preparation sprint saves weeks.
Assemble trial balances and general ledger extracts for the periods in scope, with journal entry detail including preparer and approver IDs. Export bank statements for all accounts that touch cash or clearing. Pull the vendor and customer master change logs for the same window.
Name a single document coordinator with authority to retrieve files across departments. Reviewers should not need four introductions to obtain one purchase order. If counsel is involved, agree early which folders are privileged and which are available for testing.
Also decide who will attend walkthroughs. Process owners who actually post transactions are more useful than executives summarizing policy. The first week should produce tested exceptions, not a second request list.