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FORENSIC ACCOUNTINGACCT 587

Spring 2013

Professors: Doug Farrow, Jim Dowling, Omid Yazdi Section: 14297DPhone: (213)955-8389 , (626) 585-0321and(213) 430-2119

Class Meetings: M 6:30-9:30 p.m.Email:dfarrow@kpmg.com,jim@dowlingadvisory.com,oyazdi@kpmg.com,Location: 230Office: 205 Credits: 3Office Hours: M 5:306:30 pm

Prerequisite:

ACCT 572prerequisite may be waived.

Required Text and Readings:

Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination (1st Ed) by Kranacher, Riley and Wells, 2011. Managing the Risk of Fraud and Misconduct: Meeting the Challenges of a Global, Regulated, and

Digital Environmentby Girgenti and Hedley, 2011.

Various class handouts, including PowerPoints, supplementary resources, cases, problems, examinationmaterials, etc. Note all such material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced, distributed, ordisplayed without express written consent of the author.

Please bring the texts to each class as we will use discussion cases in the text. Texts are available throughAmazon.com. The USC bookstore may not be able to provide these texts because of timing issues.

USC Information:

USC Emergencies (213) 740-4321 USC Emergency Info Line (213) 740-9233

KUSC Radio 91.5 FM USC Information Line (213) 740-2311

Important Dates:

Spring semester classes begin Monday, January 14th

MLK Day, University Holiday Monday, January 21st

Last day to drop without a mark of W Tuesday, February 5th

Presidents Day Monday, February 18th

Midterm Exam Monday, February 25th

Spring Recess March 18thMarch 23rd

Investigation Report/Presentations Monday, March 25

th

Last day to drop with a mark of W Friday, April 12th

Expert Witness Report/Presentations Monday, April 22nd

Rebuttal Report Due Monday, April 29th (beginning of class)

Final Exam Monday, May 13th (7-9:30 p.m.)

Course Audience, Objectives and Outcomes:

mailto:dfarrow@kpmg.commailto:dfarrow@kpmg.commailto:dfarrow@kpmg.commailto:jim@dowlingadvisory.commailto:jim@dowlingadvisory.commailto:jim@dowlingadvisory.commailto:oyazdi@kpmg.commailto:oyazdi@kpmg.commailto:oyazdi@kpmg.commailto:oyazdi@kpmg.commailto:jim@dowlingadvisory.commailto:dfarrow@kpmg.com

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Grading:

Grading components and relative weights are as follows:

Grading Component% of

TotalPoints

Possible

Participation 10% 100

Homework Assignments 5% 50

Midterm Exam 15% 150

Investigation Report/Presentation 20% 200

Expert Witness Report/Presentation 20% 200

Rebuttal Report 15% 150

Final Exam 15% 150

Total 100% 1,000

Overall grades are based on a rank ordering of points accumulated during the course of the semester and will

adhere to the USC Leventhal School of Accounting and Marshall School of Business grading standards forgraduate programs. Typically overall course grades for this type of course would result in a class average 3.5

GPA.

Topics and Assignments:

A course schedule is attached to the syllabus. It includes course coverage on a weekly basis together with

exam and other important dates throughout the semester. Please note that this syllabus and assignedreadings are subject to change. The field of forensic accounting requires that you deal with constant changeand uncertainty and our class will incorporate aspects of this uncertainty. Changes will be indicated on

Blackboard and an updated course schedule will be posted. You are required to check the contents of theContent Folder at the conclusion of each week to determine course coverage, readings, assignments, guests,

etc. for the upcoming week. In the absence of any changes indicated on Blackboard, follow the attachedcourse schedule. Any updates, as well as all course-related information, will be posted on the CourseInformation folder and should be available by Friday for the coming week. For all types of gradedmaterial, late work will not receive full credit.

Homework Short Case Studies:

These write ups are assigned to facilitate discussion in a particular topic area. You are expected to address

the issues and consider the implications for these short case write-ups. They should be done in outline orbullet form. As a general rule, these short case write-ups will be graded based on effort extended, thought,

and issues identified to help facilitate discussion. Specific instructions will be posted on Blackboard foreach of these assignments.

Class Participation and Professionalism:

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In addition to the case write ups, there will be class discussion of cases, both assigned in homework and in

the news. Students should come to class prepared to discuss current events as they relate to forensicaccounting. Participation points are awarded primarily for substantive contributions to class discussions.Participation in class discussions should enhance and further the learning experience of the members of theclass. Attendance will also be considered in participation points. Class attendance will be tracked by an

attendance sheet. It is your responsibility to sign in for each class session that you attend. You are welcome toreview the sheet at the end of each class session to determine whether you have properly signed in. On-timearrival and remaining until the end of class are required for full attendance credit.

Midterm Exam:

The midterm exam will consist of multiple-choice questions and short essays. The exam will be based onthe material covered in readings, lectures, guest speakers and class discussions. There will be questions

based on material covered in the lectures that is not available in the text. The midterm exam is scheduledfor Monday, February 25th at the beginning of class.

Investigation Report and Presentation:

The class will be divided into groups. Each group will be provided materials for the case study, includingbusiness background information, financial statement information and data, and sample results of

investigation procedures. Your group assignment will be to analyze the investigation proceduresundertaken and their results and prepare a report to the clients audit committee of your findings, next stepsand recommendations. As a group, you will be asked to give a presentation on your report. You will

receive materials and more details including deliverables during class. The presentations are scheduled forMonday, March 25th.

Expert Witness Report and Presentation:

The class will be divided into groups and each group will be provided materials for a case. Groups will be

assigned as experts for either the defense or the plaintiff. Your group assignment will be to analyze theinformation and write a Rule 26 expert report for your assigned client. The expert report will incorporateany relevant issues, topics, and/or calculations covered throughout the course. As a group, you will beasked to give a presentation on your report. The goal of the report is to provide the strongest argument

possible for your client without losing credibility as an expert. Keep in mind that there will not be aperfect answer. As an expert, you will be relied upon to provide an answer based on your professional

judgment. Rule 26 reports and the forensic accountants role will be discussed in more detail in class. Thedue date for reports will be Monday, April 22nd at the beginning of class.

Rebuttal Report:

The class will remain in the groups assigned to the Expert Witness Report. The goal of each group will be

to rebut the perspective from the other side. Groups will have to detect and expose miscalculations,inconsistencies, and unusual assumptions. The due date for reports will be Monday, April 29 th at the

beginning of class; there will be no presentation pertaining to the Rebuttal Report.

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Final Exam:

The final exam will consist of multiple-choice questions. The exam will be based on the cumulativematerial covered in readings, lectures, guest speakers and class discussions. There will be questions basedon material covered in the lectures that is not available in the text. The final exam will also cover key

topics discussed in the recommended readings. The final exam is scheduled for Monday, May 13th from7:00-9:00 p.m.

Exam Make-Ups:

Make-up exams will be given only in what the instructors determine to be extraordinary circumstances,

justified by a legitimate excuse and supported by appropriate and adequate documentation. We will makeevery effort to schedule an opportunity to make up an exam that is properly justified. Should a student miss

the midterm, the instructors reserve the right to allow the final examination to count for the combinedweight of the midterm and final examination.

Peer Evaluations:

This class depends heavily on group work. It is important that group members participate and contribute tothe overall effective delivery of group assignments. In order to measure effective participation, you will

be asked to prepare peer evaluations on each of your group members. These evaluations will cover allmajor assignments and will be used to adjust individual grades based on performance.

Retention of Graded Materials:

Final exams and other graded work which affected the course grade will be retained for one year andavailable for review after the end of the course.

Statement on Academic Integrity:

USC seeks to maintain an optimal leaning environment. General principles of academic honesty include theconcept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submittedunless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect ones own academic work from

misuse by others as well as to avoid using anothers work as ones own. All students are expected tounderstand and abide by these principles. Students taking this course are held to the standards of the USCLeventhal Student Honor Code as well as University rules. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains theStudent Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A:http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMUS/gov/ . Students will be referred to the Leventhal Student

Honor Council and to the USC Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further reviewshould there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at:

http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ .

Statement for Students with Disabilities:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register withDisability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approvedaccommodations should be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to one of the

http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMUS/gov/http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMUS/gov/http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMUS/gov/

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professors as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00

p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.