Essential Project Investment Governance and Reporting: Preventing Project Fraud And Ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

Rating:
Summary: Determining Fraud bs. Mismanagement
Review: Sub-Title: Preventing Project Fraud And Ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

Sarbanes-Oxley is one of those things that you really wish Congress had to apply to themselves rather than just imposing it on the rest of us. It has certainly made life interesting. In terms of project management, it's intent is to ensure that a project proceeds to work on its stated mission, correctly utilizing the projects resources, and eliminate improper dealings with project vendors for personal enrichment.

A key problem is to distinguish between fraud and mismanagement, conspiracy and incompetence. An interesting project discussed in the book is the California State Welfare Automation Project where the project was so confused that they still can't say if fraud ocurred. From this example the reporting procedures that may prevent the reocurrance of such situations is developed by looking as many areas where fraud can at least be expected to occur.

This situation wouldn't be so critical if the law weren't written so that people can be put in jail for not instituting proper controls where proper controls are a matter of opinion. This book gives the best analysis of current thinking, subject to change of course as the courts deal with the problem.