A CPA's skills, an agent's badge.

The office belonging to the head of the FBI's Washington field office sports a memento of one of his past jobs: a sign identifying Tom Green as the controller of the Olympic Construction Co. However, "Tom Green" was the nom de guerre of FBI special agent Thomas J. Pickard, CPA, and Olympic was, in fact, a dummy company set up by the FBI to try to bribe politicians on behalf of Middle Eastern businessmen, in the undercover, operation known as ABSCAM. "We suspected private investigators would be hired to make sure Olympic Construction was real--and not a trap. We had to make it look like a real company." It needed real ledgers and real responses to federal regulatory authorities. CPAs, knowledgeable about how real companies worked, proved able to set up a fake one. "As I've always told agent-trainees, the most important tool they have isn't a 9 mm. handgun; it's a number-two pencil."

Pickard has used both tools in his 23 years with the FBI. Licensed as a CPA in New York, with an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA in taxation, he worked for two and a half years at Touche Ross before joining the bureau. In the FBI's New York office, he was assistant special agent in charge (ASAC) for all white collar crime investigations and was later ASAC for violent crimes matters. He supervised the trials of the World Trade Center defendants and played a key role in the investigation of the TWA 800 explosion.

Since ABSCAM, the pencil has given way to the laptop computer, now standard issue for all FBI special agents. In February Pickard moved from the Washington field office to FBI headquarters as assistant director in charge of its criminal investigative division, the bureau's third-highest position. The CPA's role in the FBI has grown as well; nearly 1,400 of the bureau's 12,000 special agents are "agent accountants." Pickard recently discussed with the Journal frauds that are the concern of all CPAs, important security issues for business and how he has applied traditional CPA skills in new ways.

Accountant as investigator

CPA agents apply their accounting skills in reviewing the finances of top officials: Pickard was one of a small army of special agents who pored over Nelson Rockefeller's extensive financial records when he was chosen as vice-president. CPAs look into possible fraud at FDIC banks and work with U.S. Attorneys investigating finances in criminal cases.

Today's financial crimes increasingly involve computers and the Internet, in some surprising places. "Illegal gambling houses would keep records on rice paper and throw them into buckets of water to dissolve as we broke down the door." The special agents' first task was kicking the buckets over. Now, these outfits use computers and take their bets over the Internet. "We raided a drug dealer's headquarters--the suspect actually had a group of Pentium computers, which he used for accounts payable and receivable." One terrorist, Ramzi Yousef, encrypted financial records on his hard drive. Special agents eventually decoded the records and were able to use them to win a conviction.

The Internet easily crosses international borders, as do online criminals. "An overseas Internet fraud may be the result of a hostile foreign government--or a 17-year-old with a PC." The FBI maintains units overseas to work with local law enforcement agencies. "U.S. companies sell products through a Web site and get excited when orders pour in. Soon, they realize the credit cards used are fraudulent, tied to nonexistent addresses. I've seen very sophisticated companies cheated this way."

Any CFO at a corporation may have responsibility for keeping payroll data private. So did Pickard, who had an especially urgent reason for re-designing the. FBI's payroll system: The bureau had to avoid compromising undercover agents living under assumed names.

Take a tip from the G-men

In many cases, CPA agents work closely with a company's auditors to investigate fraud cases. Pickard's experience in fraud and other white-collar crimes has given him insights into what companies should do to protect themselves. "Review procedures. For example, check a credit card number you receive online before processing an order." He stressed the need to consider the "enemy within"--the disloyal employee. "If you're having trouble with your system, is it a malfunctioning server or someone trying to break into a secure area? You used to lock up ledgers--are you locking up your systems?" Pickard's general advice to CPAs is to look at the big picture. "Too often CPAs get overly involved in the numbers. Step back and ask yourself--does this make any sense?"

"The electronic world presents a challenge for CPAs," said Pickard. CPAs concerned about their own companies' security issues or their clients' may want to consider additional education in this area; the FBI does. "All agents--even senior ones--continue to take FBI-sponsored classes." Agents can hone their computer skills, for example. Also, the bureau is a CPE provider for its CPA agents, who keep up with new audit techniques. "Raids used to end with agents seizing boxes of paper records--now it's boxes of floppy disks."

A road less traveled

Pickard likes applying his skills to his FBI job but warns it isn't for everyone. "There are many prerequisites for being a special agent, and it's more physical than a Big 4 job. Your workday can start at 5:00 A.M." FBI policy requires all special agents to be "physically able to engage in firearms use, raids and defensive tactics." Pickard once extradited a terrorist from another country, but the criminal was so dangerous no other country would allow any plane carrying him to land, even for refueling. "I spent over 20 nonstop hours with my prisoner on a U.S. military transport that had to refuel in midair." But he does emphasize the opportunities for young CPAs (applicants must be between the ages of 23 and 37) interested in something different. "The FBI handles more than 200 different kinds of federal violations. The CPA agent is the only special agent with the education to handle all of them. I would not be where I am today without my CPA designation; I would not have had the opportunities."