Tracy Coenen, Forensic Accountant and Fraud Investigator
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE, CFF founded Sequence Inc. in 2000 after stints in the criminal justice system, at auditing firm Arthur Andersen, and at a small forensic accounting firm. Tracy has personally investigated hundreds of frauds in a wide variety of industries, including cases of embezzlement, financial statement fraud, investment fraud, and insurance fraud. She has served as an expert witness in numerous cases in state and federal courts involving damage calculations, commercial contract disputes, shareholder disputes and criminal defense.
CertificationsCertified Public Accountant (CPA) - Licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF)
Education
Master of Business Administration - Marquette University
Honors Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Law Studies - Marquette University
Related Experience
- Working in an investigative or accounting capacity for over 15 years
- Adjunct Professor at Concordia University - Wisconsin (2001-2009)
- Adjunct Faculty for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2006-2007)
- Graduate of the Criminal Investigator Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
- Member of the Board of Advisors of Pyramid Scheme Alert (2006-present)
- Journal of Accountancy Editorial Adviser (2008-present)
- Simulation developer for the Uniform Certified Public Accountants Examination developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Author
- Author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud (Wiley, 2008)
- Author of Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide (Wiley, 2009)
- Lead Author, The CPA's Handbook of Fraud and Commercial Crime Prevention (AICPA, 2009)
- Author of Fraud Files column for Wisconsin Law Journal
- Financial writer at AOL Time Warner, writing about fraud, scams, and ripoffs for business finance site DailyFinance, consumer finance site WalletPop, and stock market site BloggingStocks
- Writer for regional and national publications including Fraud Magazine, Andrews Litigation Reporter, Wisconsin Law Journal, New York Daily Record, On Balance, Minnesota Lawyer, St. Louis Daily Record, Kansas City Daily Record, and Small Business Times.
- Content published by online media such as Business Week, Washington Post, and CBS News.
- Presenter at major industry conferences sponsored by organizations such as ACFE, AICPA, NACVA, IASIU, and state CPA societies
- Keynote speaker for organizations such as ACFE, Wisconsin Institute of CPAs, and Society of Louisiana CPAs
- Corporate anti-fraud trainer, instructing law firms, accounting firms, and insurance companies on best practices related to fraud management, fraud prevention, and fraud detection and investigation
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants (WICPA)
- Illinois CPA Society
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)
- National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA)
- 2010 Marquette University Alumni National Awards winner, receiving the Entrepreneurial Award from the College of Business Administration
- 2007 winner of the Hubbard Award, presented by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
- 2002 Women of Influence award winner, presented by the Business Journal.
- Commentary has been featured on CNBC's On the Money and on NBC news.
- Quoted on fraud issues and entrepreneurship in business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Compliance Week, Entrepreneur.com, USA Today, Financial Executive Magazine, Business Journal, and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Tracy's bio can be found here.

