Hello all, I was wondering if you would offer some guidance on a *fictional* scenario (specifically, one I am trying to create for a novel).
The scenario is as follows - a high-level executive returns to work after a long period of absence, only to begin suspecting that the company is losing/has lost a lot more money than the CEO (her grandfather) and the BoD are making known.
A subplot in this overall scenario is an attempt by a single individual to hide the mobilization of an enormous amount of money and resources for some sort of secret mining project. This individual cannot afford in any way to be caught doing this, but has managed to move a small amount of loyal personnel and machinery (think dump trucks, forklifts, backhoes, etc.) without anyone noticing. This is a very large corporation by the way.
And it is also science fiction - i.e. a metals mining conglomerate is organizing a secret drilling operation in an area of the galaxy where it is illegal to do so.
So my question is basically this - from the perspective of the protagonist's forensic accountant (who suspects something is wrong), what steps might he take to find out if money is missing (cleverly hidden money at that) and where it might be going? And also, assuming the theft of these resources is done in a clever manner, what might be the initial discrepancy that turns the accountant on to the fact that something is wrong?
As you can tell I am totally clueless with the appropriate terminology.
The scenario is as follows - a high-level executive returns to work after a long period of absence, only to begin suspecting that the company is losing/has lost a lot more money than the CEO (her grandfather) and the BoD are making known.
A subplot in this overall scenario is an attempt by a single individual to hide the mobilization of an enormous amount of money and resources for some sort of secret mining project. This individual cannot afford in any way to be caught doing this, but has managed to move a small amount of loyal personnel and machinery (think dump trucks, forklifts, backhoes, etc.) without anyone noticing. This is a very large corporation by the way.
And it is also science fiction - i.e. a metals mining conglomerate is organizing a secret drilling operation in an area of the galaxy where it is illegal to do so.
So my question is basically this - from the perspective of the protagonist's forensic accountant (who suspects something is wrong), what steps might he take to find out if money is missing (cleverly hidden money at that) and where it might be going? And also, assuming the theft of these resources is done in a clever manner, what might be the initial discrepancy that turns the accountant on to the fact that something is wrong?
As you can tell I am totally clueless with the appropriate terminology.