Students

ACCG2067 – Foundations of Forensic and Data Analytics

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Batul Towfique Hasan
batul.hasan@mq.edu.au
Nuraddeen Nuhu
nuraddeen.nuhu@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces students to the practice and procedures of forensic accounting and the important role played by the forensic accountant in the legal and business environment. Students will be exposed to the theory and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques in relation to fraud detection, fraud and risk exposures, dispute resolution, cyber and financial crimes and legal obligations and processes. The unit aims to develop in students an appreciation of how the application of forensic and data analytics skills and strategies are essential to the role of the forensic accountant as an expert witness and professional advisor.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of forensic accountants.
  • ULO2: Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process.
  • ULO3: Develop awareness of issues and key principles of professional digital forensic practice, including chain of custody and best practice procedures.
  • ULO4: Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting.
  • ULO5: Recognise mechanisms to uncover or recover evidence from digital devices to support litigation and investigations.

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The above penalties do not apply to class assessments assigned for 'Assessed Coursework', which will receive a grade of '0' unless submitted in the assigned time.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Assessed Coursework 30% No Week 2, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 10, Week 11
Class Test 25% No Week 8
Group Assignment 45% No Week 13

Assessed Coursework

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 14 hours
Due: Week 2, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 10, Week 11
Weighting: 30%

 

Students are required to complete regular assessed coursework activities consisting of seven homework submissions. Details on homework questions coverage will be provided in the Unit Weekly Guide available on iLearn. Homework submissions activities are designed to encourage students to actively engage with the Unit material and to provide students with timely feedback on their performance throughout the session. Homework submissions will be marked on the basis of original effort. The marking criteria to be applied to homework submissions is provided in the Unit Assessment Guide available on iLearn. Each homework submission is equally weighted and the best 5 of 7 homework submissions will count towards your homework submission marks.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of forensic accountants.
  • Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process.
  • Develop awareness of issues and key principles of professional digital forensic practice, including chain of custody and best practice procedures.
  • Recognise mechanisms to uncover or recover evidence from digital devices to support litigation and investigations.

Class Test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 25%

 

The purpose of the diagnostic test is to provide students with feedback on their knowledge and application of the material using a formative assessment task early in the session. The test will be marked based on the appropriate application of knowledge and skills to short answer and case based questions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of forensic accountants.
  • Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process.
  • Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting.

Group Assignment

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 45%

 

Students are required to complete a group report assignment consisting of individual and group components. Details regarding the nature of the assignment and its requirements will be made available on iLearn early in the session. The properties on which the assessment task is will be assessed are as follows: Application of knowledge and skills Quality of reasoning and appropriate application of data analytic techniques Quality of communication and presentation of assignment The Unit Assessment Guide provides standards and a grading rubric for this assessment task.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of forensic accountants.
  • Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process.
  • Develop awareness of issues and key principles of professional digital forensic practice, including chain of custody and best practice procedures.
  • Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting.
  • Recognise mechanisms to uncover or recover evidence from digital devices to support litigation and investigations.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

The delivery of this unit is face to face with no online options. Resources for this unit are available on Leganto.

Unit Schedule

Week

Learning Objective

Content

Reading

1

LO1: Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of

forensic accountants

What is Forensic Accounting?

 

Roles of a Forensic Accountant

 

Skills of a Forensic Account

 

Code of ethics

 

Forensic Accountant versus Other Accountants

 

 

Rezaee, Z. (2019). Forensic Accounting and Financial Statement Fraud, Volume I: Fundamentals of Forensic Accounting. New York: Business Expert Press. Chapter 1 – Introduction to Forensic Accounting

 

Rezaee, Z. (2019).  Forensic Accounting and Financial Statement Fraud, Volume I: Fundamentals of Forensic Accounting. New York: Business Expert Press. Chapter 2 – Forensic Accounting Services & Skills

 

APES 215 https://apesb.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Revised_APES_215_July_2019.pdf

 

ICFA website: https://www.forensicglobal.org/forensicaccounting.html

 

Investigation Techniques, Methods, Types, and Increasing Impact of Forensic Accounting in Digital Period. (n.d.). https://doi.org/10.33203/mfy.1084274

 

 

 

2

LO1: Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of

forensic accountants

 

LO3: Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process

 

Introduction to Fraud

 

Fraud Theories

 

Fraud Detection/Internal Control

 

Interpreting Potential Red Flags

 

Professional Scepticism

 

Risk Factors

 

 

Fraud theories & White-collar crimes

https://researchleap.com/fraud-theories-white-collar-crimes-lessons-nigerian-banking-industry/

 

Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation for Non-Experts, H. Silverstone and M. Sheetz, Chapter 2, Fraud in Society

 

Financial Investigation and Forensic Accounting, G. A. Manning, Chapter 24, Audit Programs

 

A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation, W. Kenyon and P. D. Tilton, Chapter 13, Potential Red Flags and Fraud Detection Techniques

 

3

LO1: Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of

forensic accountants

Overview of the Australian Legal System

  • Criminal
  • Civil
  • Administrative

 

Australia’s Uniform Evidence Legislation

 

Evidence Act 1995

 

Rules of Evidence

 

Hearsay Opinion

 

Standard of Proof

 

The Admissibility Regime

 

The Opinion Rule

 

Expert Witness – Part 1

 

Australian legal system [online]. HOT TOPICS, No. 79, 2011: 1-28

 

Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) extracts:

• Part 3.2 Hearsay: s59, s60, s63, s64, s69, s71

 

• Part 3.3 Opinion: s76, s78, s79

 

  • Part 4.1 Standard of Proof: s140, s141

 

Expert evidence. (n.d.), Chapter 2 - Common Law Evidentiary Rules (selected sections only)

 

Expert evidence. (n.d.), Chapter 3 - Statutory Evidentiary Rules (selected sections only)

 

 

4

LO1: Understand the role of forensic accounting and its relationship to the legal system, including the legal, ethical and professional obligations of

forensic accountants

 

Expert Witness – Part 2

  • Duties and Responsibilities
  • The Expert’s Testimony
  • Rules of Evidence
  • Expert Witness Code of Conduct

 

Forensic Accountant as an Expert Witness

 

R. Hoffman, W. Finney, Ph. Cox & K, Cooper, The Accountant as an Expert Witness: A basic guide to forensic accounting - Chapter 2: Overview - the legal framework (CCH Australia Limited, 2007)

 

Schedule 7 – Expert Witness Code of Conduct Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW)

 

Additional materials provided

5

LO2: Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting

Financial analyses

-Key ratios

 

The Need for Analysis Tools

- Link diagrams

- Matrices

- Social Network Analysis

- Analysing Networks

- Cluster

- Outlier

 

Tracing

 

 

Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation for Non-Experts, H. Silverstone and M. Sheetz, Chapter 5 Fundamental Principles of Financial Analysis

 

Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation for Non-Experts, H. Silverstone and M. Sheetz, Chapter 12, Analysis Tools for Investigators

 

6

LO2: Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting

Data Mining Routines

 

Understanding the Integrity of

the Data

 

Understanding the Norm of the Data Entity

 

Structures and Search

Routines

 

Strategies for Data Mining

 

 

The Fraud Audit: Responding to the Risk of Fraud in Core Business Systems, L. W. Vona, Chapter 7, Data Mining for Fraud

 

 

7

LO2: Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting

Revenue Misstatement

 

Inventory Fraud

 

Fraud risk structure

 

Data analysis

 

Data mining planning

 

The Fraud Audit: Responding to the Risk of Fraud in Core Business Systems, L. W. Vona, Chapter 13, Revenue Misstatement

 

 

The Fraud Audit: Responding to the Risk of Fraud in Core Business Systems, L. W. Vona, Chapter 14, Inventory Fraud

 

8

Class Test

 

 

 

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

9

LO3: Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process

Planning an investigation (Part 1)

  • Background research
  • Critical Steps in Gathering Evidence
  • Chain of Custody
  • Evidence Created
  • Closing the investigation

 

Forensic Accounting, R. Rufus and others, Chapter 7 Conducting a Fraud Investigation

 

Planning an investigation (2016)

 

A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation,

W. Kenyon and P. D. Tilton, Chapter 10, Building a Case: Gathering and Documenting

Evidence

 

 

10

LO3: Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process

Planning an investigation (Part 1)

  • Analyse the evidence
  • Reporting
  • Albrecht’s model of investigation

 

A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation,

W. Kenyon and P. D. Tilton, Chapter 10, Building a Case: Gathering and Documenting

Evidence

 

Additional materials provided

 

11

LO4: Develop awareness of issues and key principles of professional digital forensic practice, including chain of custody and best practice procedures

 

 

Introduction to Digital Forensics

 

Forensic IT

 

Software used by Forensic IT

 

Cyber crime

 

Cloud computing

 

Challenges of Digital Forensics

 

Conclusions and Reporting

Essentials of Forensic Accounting, M. A. Crain

and others, Chapter 11, Digital Forensics

 

Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation, E. Casey, Chapter 1,

Introduction

 

CPA Australia

https://intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au/accounting/challenge-forensic-accounting-in-digital-economy

12

LO5: Recognise mechanisms to uncover or recover evidence from digital devices to support litigation and investigations

 

Forensic Analysis Fundamentals

 

EDRM

 

Evidence dynamics

 

 

 Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation, E. Casey, Chapter 2, Forensic

Analysis

Pearson, T. A., & Singleton, T. W. (2008). Fraud and forensic accounting in the digital environment. Issues in Accounting Education, 23(4), 545–559. https://doi.org/10.2308/iace.2008.23.4.545

 

13

LO5: Recognise mechanisms to uncover or recover evidence from digital devices to support litigation and investigations

Identification of electronic data

 

Forensic Preservation of data

 

Data Processing

 

Production of Electronic Data

Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation, E. Casey, Chapter 3, Electronic

Discovery

 

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Unit information based on version 2024.06 of the Handbook