ACF5120 - Forensic accounting and fraud examination - 2018

This unit covers theoretical and practical issues relevant to forensic accounting and fraud examination. Forensic accounting is the application of investigative and analytical skills to resolve financial issues in a manner that meets standards required by courts of law. Fraud examination is the process used to resolve allegations of fraud through the accumulation of evidence, including the investigation of systems and internal controls, and the detection of fraud circumstances. The unit examines the investigative process as well as an array of tools and techniques used to investigate financial forensic issues and fraud. Topics include: methods and techniques used by forensic accountants to collect, analyse and report relevant information for supporting cases to be presented in court; the nature, prevention, detection and investigation of different types of fraud, including: financial statement fraud, fraud against the organisation, consumer fraud, and e-commerce fraud.

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

1. examine the nature of fraud and critically evaluate and apply theories and techniques to prevent, detect and investigate different types of fraud, including financial statement fraud, fraud against organisations, consumer fraud, and fraud in e-commerce
2. demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills that forensic accountants and fraud examiners are expected to possess. These include: investigative techniques, knowledge of auditing, ethics, criminology, accounting, law, and information technology, and communication skills
3. develop an ability to work independently and to lead and participate in teams from diverse cultural and social backgrounds by completing both independent and group assessable tasks
4. apply critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills to individual and/or group activities dealing with forensic accounting and fraud examination and demonstrate in an individual summative assessment task the acquisition of a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered by ACF5120.

Within semester assessment: 50% + Examination: 50%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information