From Boston, Kyle Kanstein, Executive Vice-President & Chief Compliance Officer of the ACFE-GTA Chapter shared some key take-aways" from Day One of the ACFE 37th Annual Global Fraud Conference.

"Beyond the Chapter of the Year award, the conference offered several reminders of why professions that are involved in combatting fraud and other financial crime matter:"

• "Commitment Matters." The ACFE has now surpassed 100,000 members worldwide, demonstrating the growing global commitment to fighting fraud.
  
  
• "Perception Matters." Data from the 2026 Report to the Nations continues to highlight a concerning gap between how boards and executives perceive fraud risk and how anti-fraud professionals assess it. Strong governance starts with listening to the people closest to the risks.
  
  
• "Accountability Matters." One quote that resonated with me: “Public money may leave the government, but it should never leave public accountability.” Major frauds often begin with small weaknesses that go unaddressed.
  
  
• "Courage Matters." Whistleblowers are often exceptional "pattern recognizers". It can take time to accept that what they are seeing is fraud, and even more integrity and courage to speak up. As was noted by one of the speakers, "courage is not the absence of fear, but doing the right thing even when fear exists."
  
  
• "Collaboration Matters." The story behind the Panama Papers served as a powerful example of collaboration, with journalists around the world using encrypted communications to coordinate and investigate in secrecy before bringing one of the largest financial scandals in history to light.

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