Kelley Brubaker CPA Lawyers missing money

Fraud in Law Firms: Trust Accounts, Controls, and ‘Surprise and Delight’ Auditing (with Kelley Brubaker, CPA) Connect with Kelley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/ https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio https://www.profitscalethrive.com/about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQx-5aFarKk&list=PLg49S9w-ON1IsOz0v3sk8nMwD_1PuLXyV&index=23 Host Kelly interviews Kelley Brubaker, CPA, who runs a 21-year accounting firm and has spent the last decade focused on law firms, about embezzlement patterns and practical prevention. Brubaker recounts her Big Four audit discovery of an ATM-deposit fraud and explains how theft often starts as “borrowing” that snowballs, especially when trust accounting is messy or poorly understood. They discuss gender patterns (men stealing higher dollar amounts, women more often), warning signs like sudden lifestyle changes, and why most law firms avoid reporting to law enforcement due to shame and reputation concerns, relying instead on DOJ press releases and bar discipline records for cases. Brubaker emphasizes controls and “surprise and delight” spot checks, limits on access (cards, signing, wires), the reality that banks don’t proactively verify signatures, and tools like Ramp to separate initiation and approval. 00:00 Meet Two Kellys 00:20 Fraudster Dinner Question 01:11 Who Steals More 03:26 Cookies And Red Flags 05:08 Kelley's CPA Origin Story 07:37 Law Firm Embezzlement Patterns 10:30 Trust Accounts And Controls 15:12 Surprise And Delight Audits 17:33 Why Firms Avoid Police 23:52 Signature Rules Dont Work 28:59 Death Valley Firm Size 31:15 Conference Q&A Confessions 32:52 Money Mindset for Lawyers 35:08 Nonprofit Fraud Hiring Story 37:14 Fraud in Pop Culture Picks 37:59 Career Path and Legal Research 42:09 Clients Who Went to Jail 43:57 Fraud Controls for Growing Firms 48:34 Partnerships and Money Fights 52:19 Tone at the Top and Tax Write Offs