Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope, a Professor of Forensic Accounting at DePaul University in Chicago, and one of the most influential figures in the field of risk, forensic accounting, and white-collar crime. In 2020, the American Institute of CPAs recognized Dr. Pope as one of the top 25 most powerful women in accounting. She’s an award-winning educator and researcher, but her work extends beyond the classroom to books and filmmaking, with the award-winning documentary "All the Queen's Horses," and the book we’ll be discussing in today's episode, “Fool Me Once”.
This is a fascinating take on the inner workings of fraud and financial crimes, and a deep dive into the character traits and motivations of perpetrators, whistleblowers, and victims. It's a case study about how the lack of controls and a corporate culture where accountability isn’t fostered set the perfect conditions for these crimes to occur, often going unnoticed for decades. This book is particularly important as it gives us a blueprint for approaching our lives and our businesses from a risk-minded mentality that could curtail the ability of perpetrators to take advantage, it also help us understand the importance of speaking up, and ultimately minimizing the risk of becoming a victim.