Worldly CFE Applies Skills in Gaming Industry

As a world traveler, Catherine Samaras, CFE, CA, CIA, has seen quite a lot. While every new destination provides a learning experience, so do many of the things she has witnessed in the business realm.

September 2013 

ACFE Member Profile 

As a world traveler, Catherine Samaras, CFE, CA, CIA, has seen quite a lot. While every new destination provides a learning experience, so do many of the things she has witnessed in the business realm.

“Working in the casino industry and prior to that, in insolvency, opened my eyes to business practices that I could never have imagined in my naïveté,” said Samaras, Vice President of Internal Audit for Melco Crown Entertainment, an owner and developer of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities based in Macau.

“The collapse of multimillion dollar enterprises in the earlier part of this century brought it all home and made me realize that there was more to auditing than just ticking off a check list,” Samaras said. “You have to think about what you are looking at… just because it happens all the time doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Samaras, who is originally from Australia, said she started in the gaming industry “quite by accident.” She previously worked at Coopers and Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouse Coopers) and other firms before finding her current career path.

Samaras began a contract to work as an auditor for the Victorian Gaming Commission in Australia, which was responsible for slot machines (at that time, Victoria did not have a legal casino). A few years later, when Victoria legalized casinos, Samaras transferred to the casino branch — “and the rest is history.”

Her new career turn eventually took her to Europe, where she was responsible for the internal audit department at two properties in Greece run by Regency Casinos. She was also in charge of the company’s internal audit department in Albania.

Now based in Southeast Asia, Samaras said she loves both her job and the location. “It is an amazing part of the world and a lot of fun.  Everything is close by, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore, and it’s so easy to pop over for the weekend, which I do quite regularly,” Samaras said.

Samaras joined the ACFE in 2006 and earned the CFE credential the following year. She frequently attends the ACFE Global Fraud Conference and is a past presenter at the ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference.

“Being a CFE isn’t just about having initials after your name, though it is impressive,” Samaras said. “It’s about your mind and how you look at things. It helps you think outside the box.

“I’ve already assisted two fellow colleagues in becoming CFEs… I intend to recruit a few more!”