”When internal auditors think of fraudulent acts, we tend to associate them with nefarious characters who intentionally set out to do something bad. However, as I have explored in my books and blogs over the years, frauds or other illegal acts are often committed by otherwise good and decent people whose personal circumstances or “blind spots” somehow caused them to lose their way. These are people who often are under extraordinary financial or personal pressures outside of the workplace. Many times, they rationalize their initial actions and don’t intend for the frauds to morph into something as big as they eventually do. As internal auditors, we should not assume that everyone is doing bad things. However, our level of professional skepticism should remind us that even good people can do bad things.”
