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TOPIC: An annual study by Oversight Systems found approximately 75 percent of certified fraud examiners claimed institutional fraud is more common now than five years ago according to an article by Wall Street and Technology. Four out of five survey participants cited the pressure “to do whatever it takes to meet goals” as the most common reason for corporate fraud. July 2007 marks the fifth anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was passed in 2002 in an effort to prevent and deter accounting scandals, such as those that occurred with Enron and WorldCom.

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Yahoo.com: Experts Available to Discuss Survey on Corporate Fraud, Sarbanes - Oxley’s Fifth Anniversary

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act hasn’t helped in the long-running battle against corporate fraud, according to a recent survey of certified fraud examiners — a staggering 76 percent of whom reported that fraud is more prevalent today than five years ago.

The 2007 Report on Corporate Fraud, conducted for governance software vendor Oversight Systems Inc., noted that that was up nine percentage points from its survey in 2005, and that a mere 3 percent of respondents felt that fraud was less prevalent, down from 7 percent in 2005.

“This survey indicates the checklist approach to compliance is not effectively reducing fraud,” said Oversight Systems chief executive Patrick Taylor, in a statement.

Furthermore, 43 percent of respondents felt that “vigilance and interest by corporate leaders” in creating a culture of integrity and fraud prevention had “already started to fade.”

WebCPA: Survey: Fraud Is Up, Despite SOX

Teamwork counts, especially when it comes to committing crimes at a corporation.

In a new examination of 374 companies accused of securities fraud between 1997 and 2002, an average of seven people were implicated in each case, including CEOs, chief financial officers, chief operating officers, general counsels, board directors and auditors.

“Far from being a solitary act, securities fraud necessarily requires complicity,” said William Black of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Institute for Fraud Prevention, which sponsored the study.

The institute is a coalition of universities funded by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP and D-Quest Inc., a risk-management firm.

The study examined companies accused of fraud in lawsuits or regulatory actions.

CEOs were implicated in nearly 90 percent of the cases examined. Next came CFOs, 78 percent. Then board directors, 40 percent; vice presidents, 36 percent; COOs, 20 percent; controllers, 19 percent; and general counsels, 7 percent.

Big accounting firms - including Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young and Price Waterhouse - were implicated in 18 percent of the cases, the study said. (Grant Thornton, which sponsored the study, is not mentioned, but it has had similar issues.)

The study said that in many cases, management ran the board instead of the other way around. Often, the board chairman and the CEO were one and the same.

Denver Post: Fraud too pervasive to roll back SarbOx