New York Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

The NYCFE is pleased to welcome Ben Axler, founder of Spruce Point Capital Management, as he presents:

Forensic Research And Public Short-Selling Activism

Public markets are structurally biased towards promoting the merits of investing in public companies. Stock promoters, often seeking to do business with the public companies being written favorably upon, rarely issue “Sell” opinions and are not independent. Boards, which are supposed to have independent Directors looking after shareholders, don’t always protect investors and restrain managements’ actions. Regulators are stretched to cover thousands of public issuers and enforcement actions can take years to occur, if at all. These forces can facilitate an environment ripe for security overvaluation and create incentives for company insiders to engage in aggressive and/or outright fraudulent activities to reap substantial financial gains. Public activist short selling is the practice of sharing unique research insights into areas where companies may be using aggressive, problematic, or fraudulent business, accounting and financial reporting practices.  The presentation will discuss the challenges, benefits and opportunities of activist short selling, and draw upon over a decade of experience and case studies from its founder to illustrate how various forensic investigative methods successfully changed the narrative about dozens of public companies.

Attendees will learn:

• What activist short selling is
• Why activist short selling adds value in public securities markets
• Various red flags and forensic methods used to identify potential problems at public companies

Attendees will be entitled to 2 CPE credits!

Seats are limited!

REGISTRATION CLOSES JULY 18th at 5:00 PM EST!

NYCFE Members: $20.00

Non-NYCFE Members: $60.00

WALK-INS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED

5:30 PM - Networking, variety of appetizers, open bar, and dessert will be served

 Presentation - 6:00PM - 8:00 PM

We continue our 2023 NYCFE raffle.  NYCFE Chapter Members who attend five or more NYCFE chapter events will qualify to be entered to win a FREE ACFE Conference registration ticket of their choice!

Ben Axler’s Bio

Mr. Axler is the founder of Spruce Point Capital Management, an activist short-selling firm that conducts forensic financial research into public companies and has exposed billions of dollars of financial schemes globally. Spruce Point was ranked #2 in London-based Insightia’s Activist Short Seller Top Five for the year 2022. Prior to founding his company in 2009, Mr. Axler spent eight years as an investment banker with Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital where he structured and executed financing, derivative risk management, and M&A deals for Fortune 500 clients. Mr. Axler is a frequent market commentator and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg/BNN, and FOX Business television, and in the print edition of Fortune and Barron’s.  Mr. Axler was also profiled in the book “The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work.” Mr. Axler graduated from Yale University with a Masters degree in Statistics, and received both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Statistics and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Business Administration from Rutgers College, where he graduated with Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors.

Additional Information:

Please refer to our Terms & Conditions which includes our refund and cancellation policies and contact for questions and concerns.

 NYCFE is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.