Detecting Accounting Fraud
Curriculum guideline
In-class lectures and/or on-line
1. Introduction to the ethical, moral and legal problem of fraudulent Financial Reporting.
2. Making ethical decisions in the business world; study of major philosophical frameworks for analyzing ethical dilemmas, as well as the most frequent “false exits”.
3. Improper recording of contingent sales and other unethical organizational behaviours.
4. Moral and ethical dilemmas facing Accounting professionals invoved in holding books open after end of period, entering in multiple element contracts, recording fictitious revenue, improper Valuation of Revenue, submitting misleading Cash Flow Statements, and other professional unethical conduct including employee and employer conflicts.
5. Improper use of Business Combinations and capitalization of expenses.
6. Immoral and unethical professional decisions such as those relating to deferral of expenses, failure to record expenses, overstating ending inventory, understating reserves for bad debts, failure to record asset impairments, and off-Balance Sheet arrangements.
7. Inadequate Disclosure in MD&A and related party transactions.
8. Unethical leadership as demonstrated during the Mortgage Crisis.
9. Signals that may indicate possible fictitious reporting in financial statements.
- Analyze the ethical decision making process adopted by various international organizations, including International Accounting Standards Board
- Demonstrate an understanding of the most frequent fraudulent business practices and GAAP departures in reporting used to: overstate revenue, understate expenses, in business combinations to overstate earnings, overstate assets and reserves.
- Identify and analyze use of special purpose entities and round-trip transactions to falsify financial reporting
- Analyze the importance of institutional and environmental influences, and how they can assist Accounting professionals and other citizens develop the ethical and moral values in their careers and their role as leaders.
Assignments and Case studies 30%
Participation 10%
Mid-term 25%
Final Exam 35%
To pass this course, students must obtain a minimum of 50% on invigilated assessments, with the 50% calculated on a weighted average basis.
Invigilated assessments include, in-class quizzes, in-class tests, midterm exam(s) and the final exam.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
Detecting Accounting Fraud: Analysis and Ethics. Cecil W. Jackson. Pearson/Prentice Hall
Current copy of the CPA Code of Professional Conduct
And/or other textbook and materials approved by the department
Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:
- No corequisite courses
Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:
- No equivalency courses