The biggest frauds in history: eight cases that changed the world
Broad intake, auditors, board members and anyone who wants to understand how things go wrong. Eight cases from four continents: Enron, Barings, Madoff, Olympus, Parmalat, Wirecard, Steinhoff and Imtech: told as narrative: the rise, the hubris, the fall and who paid the price. No prior knowledge needed: laws and regulations only come up where they explain the case, and are then explained in plain words. ยท Level: Foundation.
What you'll work through
- Four continents, one pattern: from Houston to Tokyo
The classic fraud cases that permanently changed how internal audit sees itself: Enron, Barings, Madoff and Olympus; each lesson tells the scene and ends with the mirror: would you have seen this? - Europe and Africa: the fall continues
Four cases closer to home, from Parma to Amstelveen: a forged bank letter, a fintech star that turned out to be a quarter hot air, a conglomerate that collapsed in a single day, and a Dutch group that was undone by its own growth.
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Content last updated: 2026-08-24.