Course Competencies
ACC 542 - 10/A2
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
Forensic Accounting in General
1. Discuss the various definitions of
forensic accounting, alternative descriptions, and what the field includes,
including how forensic assignments differ from traditional accounting.
Forensic Accounting
Programs
2. Explain the overall U. S. Legal system
(including specialized courts) and the steps in the legal process.
Overview of a Typical Lawsuit
Florida Court
System
U.S. Court System
3. Understand the differences between civil
litigation and criminal cases.
Civil
versus Criminal Fraud
Constitutional
Amendments Relative to Fraud Investigations
4. Explain fully the forensic accounting
process and the role that forensic accounting plays in the legal process.
Options in a Fraud
Situation
5. Describe the relationship between forensic
accountants, the client, attorneys, parties to the action, the court, various
governmental agencies, and other experts.
Who Investigates and
Prosecutes Fraud?
6. Fully explain the general professional
standards that apply to CPAs when performing forensic services.
AICPA Professional Standards
AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
AICPA Statement on Standards for Consulting Services No. 1
Florida Statutes and Rules for CPAs
Laws, Rules, Standards & Other Guidance
7. Discuss additional professional standards
that are applicable for specific types of services.
AICPA Business
Valuation and Forensic & Litigation Services Resources
FICPA
Valuation, Forensic Accounting, and Litigation Services Resources
8. Understand the concepts of independence
and conflict and how they apply in various forensic settings and discuss
specific additional limitations for public company clients.
AICPA
Rule 101
Definitions for Florida's Independence Rule
Florida Standard for Determining Independence
9. Explain the typical steps in a forensic
accounting engagement.
Overview of a Litigation Services
Engagement
10. Discuss the relationship between the
forensic accountant and the attorney.
Potential Uses of Experts
11. Provide an overview of the process an
attorney goes through in hiring an expert for a particular case.
What
Lawyers Look for in an Expert
12. Explain the concept of client-attorney privilege and explain specifically when and how it may apply to the forensic accountant.
13. Discuss the specific dos and don’ts for the forensic accountant in regard to maintaining privilege.
14. Discuss what a Motion in Limine is
and what its significance is to the forensic accountant. Be able to discuss the
Daubert, General Electric, and Kumho Tire cases and other issues involved with:
1. qualifying as an expert, 2. admission of expert's report, and 3. testimony.
Key
Events Defining Expert Witness Testimony
14A. Explain what steps the expert should take to protect themselves from a Daubert-type challenge throughout the total engagement process.
Preparing for an Engagement
15. Explain what belongs in a C.V. and what does not. Understand the purposes and users of the C.V. and how this influences its preparation.
16. Discuss the steps involved in accepting (or declining) an engagement.
17. Analyze specific engagement letters and suggest improvements or modifications.
The Forensic Engagement
18. Understand the basic steps in the initial planning of a forensic engagement, including an ability to identify issues and propose rational methods to gather facts to resolve the issues in a particular engagement.
19. Explain the various types of evidence and their application in forensic accounting.
20. Discuss the Federal Rules of Evidence and
their specific application in forensic accounting to planning and managing the
engagement.
Federal Rules of
Evidence
State
Rules of Evidence
21. Discuss the general rules involved in undertaking an ethical investigation.
22. Understand and be able to apply
appropriately the various investigative approaches to different types of
forensic accounting engagements.
Fraud Investigation Methods
23. Discuss the general approach to a
forensic investigation, including the various stages of
an investigation.
Internal Fraud Investigations
24. Explain the purpose of an interrogatory and the role of the forensic accountant in both preparing and responding to interrogatories.
25. Discuss the characteristics of both a good interview and a good interviewer.
26. Understand and be able to explain fully the interview process, including the five types of questions, the purposes, appropriate use, and steps within each stage of an interview.
27. Describe the overall process of discovery and the various parts of that process.
28. Explain other typical sources of forensic information outside the formal discovery process.
29. Discuss the strategies for information
collection, case data management, preserving evidence, and the importance of
maintaining data context.
Electronic Discovery Reference
Model
Forensic Data Analysis
30. Understand the various contents of an
expert’s report, including differentiating between what is required and what is
optional, and when various optional sections are appropriate.
Tips on
Preparing an Expert Report
31. Discuss the deposition process, including preparation, specific dos and don’ts, and countering common tactics of opposing counsel.
31A. Discuss the various parts of the pre-trial preparation stage.
32. Present an overview of the entire process of a trial and relate each stage in the trial to the forensic accountant.
33. Explain the role of the forensic
accountant at trial, including testifying, effective presentation,
and cross-examination.
Impeaching the Expert
The Forensic Practice
34. Discuss the recommended steps and
alternate routes for a new graduate interested in entering forensic accounting
as a career.
Building a Forensic Practice - Starting Out
35. Explain the general approaches used in
building a forensic accounting practice.
Building a Forensic Practice - Establishing and Maintaining
Building a Forensic Practice - Marketing Your Practice
Application
36. Diagnose specific case situations, determine appropriate approaches, develop analyses, and present quality forensic reports.
37. Prepare and professionally present relevant and appropriate questions on various forensic accounting application areas.
38. Prepare and professionally present
elements of a forensic engagement.
APA Style information
Legal Citations - The
Blue Book
- 3/2006 - last revised 11/16/2007 -