Assume you were(are) a bookkeeper or Accountant for someone who invested with Bernie Madoff

Case Study – Bernie Madoff (with hindsight)

NOTE: You will have to do some background research about this case to answer these questions. Google will be your friend. There are some links and videos in this Canvas module to get you started.

Assume you were(are) a bookkeeper or Accountant for someone who invested with Bernie Madoff. You not only did their books, but also advised them on financial planning and did their tax returns. Note: that no 1099’s were ever received from Bernie Madoff investments for you client but a long and complicated investment print out instead with a phone number to call if you had questions about taxes related to your investments.

We now know the Madoff investments for some period of time have been fraudulent.

1) Were there indicators that might have caused you to react differently with regard to your client’s investment?

2) With the advantage of hindsight, what additional due diligence could you have performed?

a) With regard to the financial planning

b) With regard to the tax preparation

3) If you run across a similar situation in the future, do you feel any more comfortable about how to handle it? Would you report such a situation to the SEC, IRS, or other regulatory body?