Gratis Course: Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination
Published October 22, 2014
RTC Alumni:
Coursera.org, an online education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide to offer free online courses, is now offering a Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination course from West Virginia University.
Coursera Mission Statement
"We envision a future where everyone has access to a world-class education. We aim to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in."
Course Summary:
"Fraud is prevalent around the world, having a significant impact on the global economy. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) 2014 Report to the Nations projects that in 2013, worldwide fraud approached $3.7 trillion, or as much as 5% of the productive economy.
Understanding and combating fraud, nefarious financial activities associated with organized crime and terrorist financing is a multidimensional task. Some fraudsters are characterized as good persons making a bad decision that appear out of character for the individual. At the same time, there are fraud schemes and criminal organizations established solely for the purpose of defrauding their victims to accumulate massive amounts of cash and other assets through activities like systematic credit card and healthcare fraud. In this course, you will develop the skills to identify accidental versus predator fraudsters.
Next the course introduces the topics of evidence, data analysis and investigations; During this stage, the course discusses cutting edge data mining, big data analysis tools, the examination of evidence and an overview of investigation techniques centered on putting fraud examination and forensic accounting cases together.
From there the course examines more sophisticated approaches to concealment, money laundering, in the hopes of turning ill-gotten gains into money and other assets seemingly derived from legitimate sources. Money laundering is featured as both a concealment technique as well and a devise for clearing tainted assets.
Finally, the course considers the important role of whistle-blowing in the anti-fraud arsenal. The most common way in which frauds are discovered is by “tips.” Tips are the information provided by whistle-blowers. As such, effective anti-fraud measures need to provide whistle-blowing options to detect frauds at the earliest time in order to minimize damage.
These topics are delivered over five weeks. Our primary teaching tool will be the case method. Through anecdotes sprinkled in course lectures as well as videos of actual fraudsters in action, this courses is hands-on, immersing participants in actual frauds perpetrated by bad guys, providing relevant, real world knowledge, tools and skills to develop a deeper understanding of forensic accounting and fraud examination."
For registration information, please visit their site here.
Also, Coursera offers some additional great features (for a fee, not covered by RTC) such as obtaining "Verified Certificates," where you can link your coursework to your identity. That may include:
- Personal Certificate URL
- Shareable Course Records
- "Add to LinkedIn" Feature
- Dedicated Technical Support
Please let us know if you decide to take the course! You can email us at info@westafricartc.org to let us know how it is.
Happy studying,
RTC Staff