College Times

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Ryan Ruiz Faculty member Joe Epps teaches forensic accounting at ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.

When a person commits a crime on television shows like "CSI" and "Law and Order," forensic investigators comb the crime scene for even the most minute physical evidence that could bring the criminal to justice.

But when a perp makes off with a boatload of loot without much more than a pen or a computer, it takes a different kind of expert altogether.

Forensic Accounting fills that need, with professional accountants analyzing and verifying potential fraud in the accounting world. Joe Epps, a faculty member in ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business, instructs a course in the field of study in which students learn the ins-and-outs of the business, focusing specifically on litigation through mock trials and interaction with experts in the field.

College Times: What exactly does this Forensic Accounting course cover?
Joe Epps: It encompasses many different areas of investigative, financial and economical analysis work that accountants do. My course in particular is involved in litigation support and when my students get a case study of litigation dispute, they have to write rebuttal reports against the opposing team.

What kind of experience does the mock trial program offer?
We bring in local young attorneys and we do mock trials. We have attorneys come in and act as judges, so it's a very realistic experience and that whole process covers half the course. Students issue expert reports and rebuttal reports against other teams, which is real life issues when it comes to litigation. For the second half of the course, I teach them about fraud, how to institute proper controls to avoid fraud, what are the risks of fraud and how to protect against and how to investigate fraud.

How is this course beneficial to students now or in the long run?
Several ways. First off, it's exposure. They will realize that there is a lot more to accounting than they ever thought. Many students are brought up in traditional accounting, they are taught about the traditional terms and they don't ever realize that there's a whole other world of accounting that involves investigation and analysis. Secondly, the analytical skills and report writing skills will benefit them no matter what they end up doing because when they go out in the real world, they will be asked to make presentations to their firms and clients.

Based on your experience, which part of the course are students most interested in?
They really love the mock trials. I have a tape of me when I was testifying a case 27 years ago and I let them watch it and give them a chance to laugh at me. I point out things I did wrong back then. I point out the errors I make so they can understand that you have to grow through these things. I think that helps them put in perspective for themselves.

What are some of the valuable lessons gained from this course?
Students obtain a general understanding of the different areas that accountants work on in forensic accounting. Although it has been around so long, it's only become the sexy field of accounting in the last five to 10 years. I want my students to understand how to analyze documents and come to an objective opinion. It's important to be independent and important to communicate your results in the report. They have to provide opinions and the entire basis for their opinions. There are a lot of court rules they have to understand to work in the legal arena.

Why do you think real-life trial experience, or hands on experience is significant?
I think it's very effective for them because in this society, most professionals at some point in their career might end up on a witness stand, and having at least some exposure as to what that process is will help them later on because they understand the system.

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