Anti-fraud experts gather in Boston

By Globe Staff

If you want to hang out with the crowd at the Hynes Convention Center today, you'd better make sure of one thing -- that your numbers add up.

The Hynes is hosting the 19th annual conference of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Certified fraud examiners include forensic accountants and auditors. They can work a variety of places, including accounting firms and law enforcement agencies, said ACFE spokesman Scott Patterson.

Patterson said that, with recent corporate scandals, membership in the Austin, Texas-based group is growing. About 45,000 people belong now, compared with 40,000 the year before.

"I think what we're seeing is fraud examination becoming more defined as its own profession. That's what's kind of new. That's what's changed since Enron, Worldcom" and other scandals, he said.

More than 2,000 anti-fraud professionals are expected to attend the conference, which included a keynote address this morning by former Senator George Mitchell.

Mitchell said he talked about a numer of topics, including his experience forging a peace accord in Northern Ireland.

"How do you get people who disagree together, create a context for reasonable discussion, and then to agree on a peace agreement?" Mitchell said, describing his talk in a telephone interview afterwards. He said the audience seemed interested in the negotiation and mediation involved.

The conference, which runs through Wednesday, also includes a traveling exhibit titled, "Centuries of Scams," which the organizers promised would "provide the unique opportunity to travel through fraud's dynamic history."

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