Speaker Spotlight: David Cotton, CPA

Q&A with Dave Cotton

OSCPA: Why should members attend your session?
Cotton: Accountability professionals—accountants as well as auditors—have front-line responsibilities for minimizing fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs.  Unfortunately, government and government programs are target-rich environments for fraud, waste, and abuse.  This session will explain our responsibilities as contained in OMB’s Uniform Guidance, Government Auditing Standards (GAO’s Yellow Book), and GAO’s Framework for Managing Fraud Risk in Federal Programs. 

The fact of the matter is than fraud happens and will continue to happen.  We need to take our responsibilities with respect to fraud prevention and detection seriously if we are going to protect the public interest.  Ask yourself this simple question: Would you rather: (a) prevent or detect the fraud in your government program or (b) try to explain to people why you failed to prevent or detect the fraud?

OSCPA: How did you come to be an expert on this subject?
Cotton: When Statement on Auditing Standards Number 53 (The Auditor's Responsibility to Detect and Report Errors and Irregularities) was enacted in 1988, it changed our responsibilities in a major way.  It raised to the level of “reasonable assurance” our responsibility to find misstatements caused by fraud.  I began educating myself and my firm on fraud and why it is so difficult to prevent and detect.  Our focus on these fraud detection responsibilities enabled us to discover frauds, and in several cases, very large frauds.

Finally, I served on several task forces related to fraud prevention and detection and, in 2016, led a team of antifraud professionals in developing the ACFE/COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide. 

OSCPA: Is there anything you think is unique to your session on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Government and Governmental Programs?
Cotton: In addition to covering our responsibilities related to fraud, the session will explore some recent, real-world—and astounding—examples of how fraud, waste, and abuse happen in government and governmental programs.

OSCPA: What do you hope attendees will take away from your session? 
Cotton: Attendees should leave this session with an increased understanding of and appreciation for our important roles regarding fraud, waste, and abuse.  Hopefully, this understanding and appreciation will lead to a redoubling of efforts to prevent and detect fraud, thereby improving the organizations for whom we work and the programs they operate.

OSCPA: What drove you to found Cotton & Company, CPAs? 
Cotton: I studied mechanical engineering and management science in college, but discovered auditing (actually, performance auditing) as a quality assurance program manager while serving as an officer in the United States Air Force.  I loved the puzzle-solving and detective work inherent in auditing.  So, I started the firm, because I loved solving those puzzles.  Learning about fraud elevated this interest to new levels.  We discovered that by focusing on audit quality and finding fraud, we were able to attract highly skilled accountability professionals as well as clients who appreciated those two focuses.   

Attend Dave Cotton's Session 

OSCPA's Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference
May 2-3 | 8:00 AM | Oklahoma City | Virtual | Recommended CPE: 16 hours

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Government and Governmental Programs

Learning Objectives:

• Definitions of fraud, waste, and abuse.
• Fraud prevention and detection requirements in Uniform Guidance.
• Auditors' responsibilities to detect and report fraud, waste, and abuse.
• GAO's and Congress' attempt to embed fraud risk management procedures in all Federal programs.

The session will also explore some recent, real-world examples of how fraud, waste, and abuse happens in government and governmental programs.