2008 Woodie Awards
New minor trains students in fraud examination
Sara Wade
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Campus Life
PSU students can chase the money trail through the fraud examination minor being offered through the departments of Accounting and Justice Studies.
David O'Bryan, a professor in accounting, says that it is a hybrid, or interdisciplinary, minor between accounting and justice studies. The program requires 21 credit hours: 12 hours of justice studies and nine hours of accounting.
"The big word I'm hung up on is uniqueness," O'Bryan said. "It would add a bit of uniqueness that other job applicants would not have."
Courses are patterned after requirements for the international exam for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), he says. There is no guarantee that those who complete the minor will get certified, but it does give them a fighting chance, he says.
The minor is structured to be open to anyone across campus, O'Bryan says.
ReBekah Markham, senior in accounting, says that she was the victim of some minor fraud several years ago and wanted to learn more to help combat it.
"I found the whole concept really exciting," Markham said. "I want to be on the side of the good guys, and this seemed like a great way to do that."
Markham says that she got the ACFE student chapter organized on campus two years ago when she saw on the organization's Web site that they were chartering student chapters on college campuses.
"We became the second one in the nation, which I think is a pretty major accomplishment," Markham said. "I was elected the first president, which was a real privilege and honor."
A fraud examiner is part accountant, part lawyer, part cop and part criminologist with a little bit of psychological investigator, O'Bryan says. Graduates with those skills, he says, are in high demand.
She, as well as the other officers, worked with faculty members to develop the minor.
The minor could help someone be better-suited to investigate a financial crime, O'Bryan says. It adds some law enforcement skills to accounting majors and business and accounting abilities to justice studies majors.
Issues that the minor covers, says O'Bryan, are ones that ultimately end up in court.
"In a way, it is becoming easier to steal through fraud and misrepresentation than it is to hold up a bank," O'Bryan said.
The minor, not widely available across the country, became official in August 2007.
David O'Bryan, a professor in accounting, says that it is a hybrid, or interdisciplinary, minor between accounting and justice studies. The program requires 21 credit hours: 12 hours of justice studies and nine hours of accounting.
"The big word I'm hung up on is uniqueness," O'Bryan said. "It would add a bit of uniqueness that other job applicants would not have."
Courses are patterned after requirements for the international exam for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), he says. There is no guarantee that those who complete the minor will get certified, but it does give them a fighting chance, he says.
The minor is structured to be open to anyone across campus, O'Bryan says.
ReBekah Markham, senior in accounting, says that she was the victim of some minor fraud several years ago and wanted to learn more to help combat it.
"I found the whole concept really exciting," Markham said. "I want to be on the side of the good guys, and this seemed like a great way to do that."
Markham says that she got the ACFE student chapter organized on campus two years ago when she saw on the organization's Web site that they were chartering student chapters on college campuses.
"We became the second one in the nation, which I think is a pretty major accomplishment," Markham said. "I was elected the first president, which was a real privilege and honor."
A fraud examiner is part accountant, part lawyer, part cop and part criminologist with a little bit of psychological investigator, O'Bryan says. Graduates with those skills, he says, are in high demand.
She, as well as the other officers, worked with faculty members to develop the minor.
The minor could help someone be better-suited to investigate a financial crime, O'Bryan says. It adds some law enforcement skills to accounting majors and business and accounting abilities to justice studies majors.
Issues that the minor covers, says O'Bryan, are ones that ultimately end up in court.
"In a way, it is becoming easier to steal through fraud and misrepresentation than it is to hold up a bank," O'Bryan said.
The minor, not widely available across the country, became official in August 2007.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Matt Markham
posted 2/22/08 @ 3:30 PM CST
Way to go Mom! You want to do my taxes this year? ;-)
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