Students

ACCG2067 – Foundations of Forensic and Data Analytics

2022 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-In person assessment, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Vladimir Chugunov
vladimir.chugunov@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Moderator
Rahat Munir
rahat.munir@mq.edu.au
Cissy Zhan
cissy.zhan@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
50cp 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

To complete this unit satisfactorily, students must attempt all components of the assessments and obtain a minimum aggregate grade of 50%.

LATE SUBMISSIONS OF ASSESSMENTS

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, no extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available assessment-task marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24-hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. Late submissions will only be accepted up to 96 hours after the due date and time. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g., quizzes, online tests.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

To request an extension on the due date/time for a timed or non-timed assessment task, you must submit a Special Consideration application. An application for Special Consideration does not guarantee approval. The approved extension date for a student becomes the new due date for that student. The late submission penalties above then apply as of the new due date.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Assessed Coursework 30% No Week 2, Week 4, Week 6, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 12
Class Test 25% No Week 9, Sunday, 10.30 AM
Group Assignment 45% No Week 12, Friday, 11.59 PM

Assessed Coursework

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 14 hours
Due: Week 2, Week 4, Week 6, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 12
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 9, Sunday, 10.30 AM
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 12, Friday, 11.59 PM
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

This is an online unit. Details of assessments and online forums will be available on iLearn.

This unit is run in intensive mode. Please review the actual timetable for classes at www.timetables.mq.edu.au.

Unit Schedule

WEEK

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

CONTENT

READINGS

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

Overview of the Australian Legal System

 

How Law is Made

What the Law Deals With

Government in Australia

The Legislature

The Executive

The Judiciary

The Legal Profession

Hearsay

Opinion

Standard of   Proof

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

 

 

 

Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) extracts:

 

  • Part 3.2 Hearsay: s. 59, s. 60, s. 63, s. 64, s.

69, s. 71

  • Part 3.3 Opinion: s. 76, s. 78, s. 79

Part 4.1 Standard of Proof: s. 140, s. 141

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

The Role of The Expert

 

Existence of Formal Qualifications

Australia’s Uniform Evidence Legislation

The Opinion Rule

The Admissibility Regime

Specialised Knowledge

Fields of Expertise

Expert Evidence and Hearsay

Certificates of Expert Evidence

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)

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

Duties and Responsibilities

 

The Expert’s Testimony

 

Rules of Evidence

 

Expert Witness Code of Conduct

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)

4

LO2: 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

 

Types of Fraud

 

The Need for Analysis Tools

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

5

LO2: Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process

APES 215

 

Investigations: planning the scope and structure

APES215

 

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

6

LO2: Identify indicators of fraudulent activity and develop awareness of investigative procedures, including an appreciation of the role of evidence in the litigation process

Case management

 

Reporting the findings

 

Closing the investigation

Corruption in Focus, Crime and Corruption Commission, Chapter 6 Planning an investigation (2016)

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

7

LO3: Develop awareness of issues and key principles of professional digital forensic practice, including chain of custody and best practice procedures

Computers

 

Forensic IT

 

Digital forensics lab

 

Software used by Forensic IT

Conducting computer forensics investigations

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Electronic evidence - What if there’s no paper trail? (2008)

 

J. Brozovsky and J. Luo, Digital forensics: a new challenge for accounting professionals (Strategic Finance, 2013)

 

R. Kardell, Analysis of digital financial data (FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 2011)

8

LO3: Develop awareness of issues and key principles of professional digital forensic practice, including chain of custody and best practice procedures

Critical Steps in Gathering Evidence

 

Chain of Custody

 

Evidence Created

 

Introduction to Digital Forensics

A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation, W. Kenyon and P. D. Tilton, Chapter 10, Building a Case: Gathering and Documenting Evidence

 

 

 

Essentials of Forensic Accounting, M. A. Crain and others, Chapter 11, Digital Forensics

9

LO4: Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting

Introduction to Financial Analysis

 

Key Ratios

 

Data Mining as an Analysis Tool

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

10

LO4: Understand the theory, and principles of application, of data analytics skills and techniques to forensic accounting

Disbursement Fraud

 

Payroll 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 10, Disbursement Fraud

 

 

 

The Fraud Audit: Responding to the Risk of Fraud in Core Business Systems, L. W. Vona, Chapter 12, Payroll Fraud

11

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

Scientific Method and Digital Forensics

Digital Forensic Analysis

Data Gathering and Observation

Conclusions and Reporting

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

12

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

Introduction to Electronic Discovery

Case Management

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

13

Revision

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook