ACCT 636: Fraud Examination Master Syllabus
Course Instructor1:
Office Number:
Office Hours2:
Email:
Course Meeting Times:
Location: Fairfax Campus
Course Management System: Canvas
Communication Policy
E-mail is my preferred communication tool outside of class. I will communicate with students through George Mason email. I will respond to your emails within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hours during the weekend. If I will be away from email for more than two days, I will post an announcement in the Canvas course folder. Note, I will not use Microsoft Teams for course communications.
Course Description
This Fraud Examination course introduces strategies and techniques for fraud prevention, detection and investigation. It focuses on financial fraud such as bribery, contract rigging and kickbacks, embezzlement, fraudulent financial reporting, payroll fraud, and misappropriation of inventory and other assets.
The class will include cases, discussions of topics, lectures, presentations by students and guest presentations.
1The instructor reserves the right to change or modify this syllabus at any time during the semester. Changes will be communicated via e-mail and during class.
2Available during course window.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you will:
- Become familiar with several forms of fraud and the methods that fraud examiners use to prevent and detect fraud
- Develop expertise in detecting financial statement fraud
- Possess a basic understanding of how interviews are conducted to detect deception
- Gain familiarity with common ethical dilemmas that you might encounter in the business world and be prepared to resist ethical pressure to commit fraud
- Gain a historical view of financial statement fraud
Required Textbooks
This course requires MindTap for Fraud Examination, 6th Edition by W. Steve Albrecht; Chad O. Albrecht; Conan C. Albrecht; Mark F. Zimbelman. You may purchase either of the below:
- MindTap only (ISBN 9781337619714) which includes e-book access **
- MindTap and the loose-leaf book (ISBN 9781337734325)
- MindTap and the hard copy text (ISBN-10: 1-337-61967-1/ISBN-13: 978-1-337-61967-7)
Materials may be purchased from the George Mason bookstore, or through Cengage. When you access MindTap through Blackboard, you will have a chance to enter the access code you purchased at the bookstore or purchased from Cengage directly.
** As a cheaper alternative, you can purchase Cengage Unlimited (ISBN 9780357700006). This will provide you with access to the eBook and coursework for Fraud Examination and any other courses that use Cengage materials for either four months or 12 months (depending on your desired length of time/course load).
Technology Requirements
- Activities and assignments in this course will regularly use the Canvas learning system. Students are required to have regular, reliable access to a computer with an updated operating system (recommended: Windows 10 or Mac OSX 10.13 or higher) and a stable broadband Internet connection (cable modem, DSL, satellite broadband, etc., with a consistent 1.5 Mbps [megabits per second] download speed or higher.)
- Activities and assignments in this course may use web-conferencing software (Zoom). In addition to the requirements above, students are required to have a device with a functional camera and microphone. In an emergency, students can connect through a telephone call, but video connection (with camera on) is the expected norm.
- Access to MyMason and George Mason email are required to participate successfully in this course. Please make sure to update your computer and prepare yourself to begin using the online format BEFORE the first day of class. Check the IT Support Center website. Navigate to the Student Support page for help and information about Canvas. In the menu bar to the left you will find all the tools you need to become familiar with for this course. Take time to learn each. Make sure you run a system check a few days before class. Become familiar with the attributes of Canvas and online learning resources.
- Note: If you are using an employer-provided computer or corporate office for class attendance, please verify with your systems administrators that you will be able to install any necessary applications and that system or corporate firewalls do not block access to any sites or media types.
Course Calendar*
| Week | Date | Reading | Topic | Other info. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introductions and syllabus review | Watch: The Dropout | ||
| Ethics and Career Discussion | ||||
| 18-Jan | Chapter 1 | Nature of Fraud | ||
| Chapter 2 | Why People Commit Fraud | |||
| Chapter 3 | Fighting Fraud: An Overview | |||
| Week 2 | Chapter 4 | Preventing Fraud | ||
| 25-Jan | Chapter 5 | Recognizing the Symptoms of Fraud | ||
| Chapter 6 | Data-Driven Fraud Detection | |||
| Jan 28-Jan 30 | Exam 1 | Online (with time limit) - Chaps 1 - 6 | ||
| Week 3 | Guest presenter | Due: 1st paper (individual) | ||
| 1-Feb | Chapter 7 | Investigating Theft Acts | ||
| Chapter 8 | Investigating Concealment | |||
| Week 4 | Guest presenter | |||
| Chapter 9 | Conversion Investigation Methods | |||
| 8-Feb | Chapter 10 | Inquiry Methods and Fraud Reports | ||
| Chapter 11 | Financial Statement (FS) Fraud (part 1) | |||
| Week 5 | Chapter 11 | Financial Statement (FS) Fraud (part 2) | Due: 2nd paper (group)/ Presentations | |
| 15-Feb | Chapter 12 | Revenue and Inventory Related FS Frauds | ||
| Chapter 13 | Liability, Asset and Inadequate Disclosure Frauds | |||
| Feb 18 - Feb 20 | Exam 2 | Online (with time limit) - Chaps 7 - 13 | ||
| Week 6 | Guest presenter | |||
| 22-Feb | Chapter 14 | Fraud Against Organizations | ||
| Chapter 15 | Consumer Fraud | |||
| Week 7 | Guest presenter | |||
| 1-Mar | Chapter 16 | Bankruptcy, Divorce, and Tax Fraud | ||
| Week 8 | 8-Mar | Chapter 17 | Fraud in E-Commerce | Due: 3rd paper (group)/ Presentations |
| Chapter 18 | Legal Follow-up | |||
| Final Exam | Online (with time limit) - Chaps 14 - 18 | |||
| *This schedule is subject to change, however, the instructor will notify students of any changes in a timely manner. Exam dates, assignment due dates and presentation dates are unlikely to change. Course window: _______ | ||||
Grading
Your final grade will be calculated as follows (total 100 points possible):
| Pre-Lecture quizzes | 10 |
| Class participation | 5 |
| Paper 1 (individual) | 5 |
| Paper 2 (group) | 10 |
| Paper 3 (group) | 10 |
| Exam 1 | 20 |
| Exam 2 | 20 |
| Final Exam | 20 |
| Total points possible | 100 |
Pre-Lecture (Online) quizzes (10 points): In MindTap, you are required to complete the prelecture quiz for each chapter covered in each week (18 in total). You will have two attempts with no time limit for each quiz. These are open book. The best of the two attempts will be scored for the grade submissions. Quizzes for each week are due before our class meeting time. They will be unavailable at the start of class for each week. Week 1’s quizzes will not be graded. You can use these to practice and get familiar with using MindTap.
Class Participation (5 points): Class participation points will be earned by contributing to inclass discussions (making thoughtful comments, asking questions, or by answering questions and by sharing with the class interesting fraud statistics, cases, current news articles, thoughts, etc.). Attendance is necessary to participate in in-class discussions.
Paper 1 (individual) (5 points): This assignment will be posted in week 1 and is due in week 3. It will consist of a case study on an individual/company who has committed a significant fraud. You will be asked to research the fraud and write a report on the fraud, how it was perpetrated, and the amount of loss. You will be responsible to give any details available concerning the personality of the offender, the motive and intent to committing the fraud, as well as the resulting fine/punishment of the offender. You must identify any biological, situational, or developmental factors that contributed to the subject’s decision to commit the offense. You will also be required to recommend what procedures or controls could have prevented or detected the fraud sooner. Your paper will detail how it happened, how it was discovered, how it was investigated, information about the offender, and how it could have been prevented. You will document your study findings in a 3 - 5 pages research paper, written in APA style with proper grammar. This assignment is worth 5 points. Late submissions penalty: 10% penalty for submission after the due date but within the first week it is due, and 20% in the second week. Late submissions will not be accepted after 2 weeks beyond the due date. More information on this project will be available later in the semester and detailed instructions will be posted on Canvas. A grading rubric will also be provided.
Paper 2 (group) (10 points): This case study assignment will be posted in week 2 and is due in week 5. It will consist of a paper and presentation on an employee, vendor or customer fraud that will be assigned by the instructor during class. Your group will be asked to research the fraud and write a report on the fraud, how it was perpetrated, amount of loss, who was involved in the fraud and address the items requested. You will also be required to recommend what procedures or controls could have prevented or detected the fraud sooner. Your group will collectively give a 10 MINUTE (strictly enforced) presentation about your case. Your presentation will let your audience know what happened and how it happened, how it was discovered, how it was investigated, and how it could have been prevented. Each group will provide their written findings in a “report of findings” paper. This assignment is worth 10 points. Late submissions penalty: 10% penalty for submission after the due date but within the first week it is due, and 20% in the second week. Late submissions will not be accepted after 2 weeks beyond the due date. More information on this project will be available later in the semester and detailed instructions will be posted on Canvas. A grading rubric will also be provided.
Paper 3 (group) (10 points): This case study assignment will be posted in week 3 and is due in week 8. It will consist of a paper and presentation of an actual fraud that will be assigned by the instructor during class. Your group will be asked to research the fraud and write a report on the fraud, how it was perpetrated, amount of loss, who was involved in the fraud and address the items requested. You will also be required to recommend what procedures or controls could have prevented or detected the fraud sooner. Your group will collectively give a 10 MINUTE (strictly enforced) presentation about your case. Your presentation will let your audience know what happened and how it happened, how it was discovered, how it was investigated, and how it could have been prevented. Each group will provide their written findings in a “report of findings” paper. This assignment is worth 10 points. Late submissions penalty: 10% penalty for submission after the due date but within the first week it is due. Late submissions will not be accepted after the end of the University’s date range for this course. More information on this project will be available later in the semester and detailed instructions will be posted on Canvas. A grading rubric will also be provided.
General considerations for papers:
- The assignment due dates are on the course calendar.
- Points will be awarded for content and quality of work as well as for grammar and writing style.
- Students will be assigned to groups for Paper 2 and 3 early in the semester to allow you to begin work. Although we will cover material in later weeks, getting an advance start will make this easier.
- For group assignments, students are required to rate the involvement and contribution of all group members (including self) by completing the peer evaluation form that will be provided. Any student who consistently rates low among other group members will have their assignment grade reduced accordingly.
- All sources need to be properly cited in APA style. References should be from various sources, including but not limited to textbooks, academic journals, professional journals, and web-based materials. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source. Specific instructions for in-text citations and referencing are found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition or at The Purdue Owl website.
- To help manage the citations and seamlessly create reference lists, Mason supports free software called Zotero. This program offers:
- Centralized bibliography management
- Ability to sync across computers
- Ability for teams to combine contributions to the references
- Word plug-in that allows citation management within MS word
- George Mason University has a writing center that can help you improve your English writing skills. More information is available at the Writing Center website.
Exams (20 points each): There will be three (3) exams available online. Make-up exams will only be allowed under exceptional and/or unavoidable circumstances, and with proper documentation provided and will be subject to a penalty. If you know in advance that you may miss an exam, please notify me as soon as possible. For any unexcused missed exams, there will be a 10% penalty for the first week it is due, and 25% penalty each week thereafter. A missed exam is considered unexcused if it is deemed that the student was aware prior to the exam date that they will not be able to complete the exam during the available window and failed to notify me in advance. No exams will be allowed after the course window closes.
Grading Scale
The final letter grade will be based on the following scale.
| Grade | Points Earned |
|---|---|
| A | 93 - 100 |
| A- | 90 - 92 |
| B+ | 87 - 89 |
| B | 83 - 86 |
| B- | 80 - 82 |
| C+ | 77 - 79 |
| C | 70 - 76 |
| F | Below 70 |
Course Policies
- Please respect the privacy of any students who may disclose personal information in the class. Please respect everyone’s right to choose whether to disclose or not disclose personal information freely.
- Turn off or silence all sound emitting devices before entering the classroom. Text messaging during class is considered unprofessional and inappropriate.
- Audio recording of classroom instruction to augment in-class note taking is permitted, however; you must let me know you are doing so.
- Cell phones and other communicative devices are not to be used during class. Please keep them stowed away and out of sight. Laptops, iPads or tablets may be permitted for the purpose of taking notes only. Please be respectful of your peers and the instructor if using laptops, iPads or tablets and do not engage in activities that are unrelated to class. Engaging in activities not related to the course (e.g., gaming, email, chat, etc.) will result in a significant deduction from your participation grade.
- Attendance and participation are key elements to a successful in-class learning experience. Unexcused absences or habitual tardiness can affect your participation grade as these will be considered ‘non-participation’.
- Students must follow the university policy for Responsible Use of Computing.
- Students are responsible for the content of university communications sent to their George Mason University email account and are required to activate their account and check it regularly. All communication from the university, college, school, and program will be sent to students solely through their Mason email account.
- All assignments must be turned in on the due date given on the course schedule.
- No collaboration is allowed for classroom activities, assignments, MindTap quizzes, or exams, unless expressly authorized by the instructor.
To print: Right-click and choose “Print,” then follow your browser’s print settings.
To download: Right-click and choose “Print,” then select “Save as PDF.”