The November presentation was a joint meeting of the Institute of Internal Auditors-Aksarben Chapter, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners-Heartland Chapter.� Approximately 100 persons attended.� Our guest speaker was Ms. Lynn Fountain, vice president of Risk Assessment & Audit for Aquila, Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri.� Ms. Fountain's presentation was entitled "Being Proactive About Fraud".�

Ms. Fountain stated that for a company to have an effective internal control system, there must be corporate acknowledgment of the risk of fraud.� There must also be a commitment to prevention and detection.� Audit departments must actively look for fraud.� She identified several key steps in this process:�

� Identifying prevention and detection controls in place

� Measuring the effectiveness of your fraud program

� Utilizing control self assessments

� Utilizing evaluation tools, such as surveys, data mining/analysis, and fraud scenario analysis

Ms. Fountain also addressed Sarbanes-Oxley, its impact, and how its application has been streamlined since its initial passage in 2002.� She stated that the SEC and PCAOB have clarified a number of issues pertaining to SOX in 2005.� The most significant is that the intent of Sarbanes-Oxley was to conduct a top down analysis of internal control risk, rather than an even across the board company wide analysis.�