Online Master of Science in Economic Crime Forensics

Course Descriptions

MBA 615: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: A CUSTOMER FOCUS (Foundation)

This course is an introductory study of financial accounting. This includes the study of basic accounting language and concepts, recording financial transactions, preparation and interpretation of financial statements, accounting methods, business decisions, inventory valuations, and methods of obtaining capital.

CIS 540: NETWORK THEORY

Lecture/theory course considers the current methods, practices, and standards used to enable communication on computer and voice networks. This includes a study of the physical layers, architectural layers, design, operation, management, and ISO standards, with particular consideration given to many of the IEEE 802 standards, various protocols in the TCP/IP suite, and telephony technologies. Both local and wide area networks are examined.

ECF 601: FRAUD DETECTION AND PREVENTION

This course will provide students the weapons to fight fraud by focusing on basic fraud schemes, information and evidence gathering, criminal and civil prosecution, and criminology and ethics. The objective of this course is to provide students with methodologies for resolving fraud allegation from its inception to disposition. Students taking this course gain an understanding of the different types of fraud and the legal environment of fraud as well as how to obtain evidence and assist in the detection and prevention of fraud.

ECF 604: THE COMPUTER AND INTERNET FRAUD

Computers have made organizations easier to run. All accounting information, inventory records, customer data, and intellectual property that an organization possesses is contained somewhere in an electronic file. As such, these electronic files are vulnerable to attacks from both employees and outsiders from around the world. This course will provide the student with an understanding of how computer fraud and manipulation is accomplished and what security measures should be instituted to prevent it.

ECF 605: CORPORATE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE

Listen to a course overview by Bette Walters.

This course will examine corporate compliance as a response to the Sarbanes/Oxley legislation, which requires corporations to implement programs designed to impact business practices relative to honesty, integrity, compliance, and ethical behavior. Students will review the elements of the Act with particular emphasis on the areas of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), auditor independence, corporate responsibility, enhanced financial disclosure, corporate fraud, and accountability as these relate to the promotion of enhanced financial security and address corporate malfeasance. Students will evaluate case studies of practical applications of theories and practices on the implementation of ethics and professionalism.

ECF 610: CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LEGAL CONCEPTS OF FRAUD

The course provides an overview of the legal systems and expertise required for fraud risk professionals. The course enables participants to deepen their knowledge of the U.S. legal system by acquiring a broader understanding of processes and procedures that focus on fraud investigation, prosecution, and civil remedies. The course covers knowledge of law enforcement agencies, federal rules and regulations, evidence management, and expert testimony.

ECF 619: LAN ADMINISTRATION

Prerequisite: CIS 540
This course will focus on the design, set up, and management of local area networks and intranets. This course will develop network administration with a focus on security issues. This course will provide students with a hands-on experience to install and administer a network and its security system. Data security issues, viruses, and virus protection are also covered. The type of network architecture will be defined during the course to allow for adaptation to current technology trends. Examples of possible network environments include Windows, Linux and/or Virtualized environment.

ECF 625: LITIGATION SUPPORT PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES

Prerequisite: ECF 610
Students will explore "white-collar" misconduct that constitutes civil and/or criminal fraud, in a corporate setting including, but not limited to, (1) falsification of business records, (2) false billing, (3) forgery of documents or signatures, (4) embezzlement, (5) creation of false companies, (6) false insurance claims, (7) bankruptcy fraud, (8) investment frauds (such as Ponzi schemes), (9) tax fraud, and (10) securities fraud. Students will develop processes and procedures for proper evidence management as well as learn how to prepare for both serving as an expert witness and writing legally sound expert reports.

ECF 632: FINANCIAL STATEMENT FRAUD

Financial statement fraud involves intentional misstatements or omissions of financial statement amounts or disclosures to deceive users of the statements. This topic, commonly known as "cooking the books," will introduce students to managements' motives and pressures to achieve desired financial results as opposed to true economic financial results. This course will enable students to both understand and detect the creative accounting methods management employs to "cook the books" along with related fraud prevention strategies.

ECF 636: OCCUPATIONAL FRAUD AND ABUSE

Occupational fraud and abuse is described as the use of one's occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of one's employing organization's resources or assets. Through the use of real-life case examples, this course will illustrate the types of persons most likely to perpetrate occupational fraud, under what conditions fraud might be committed, and the specific schemes used to defraud organizations of amounts ranging from hundreds to millions of dollars.

ECF 644: DATA SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES

This course will explore all aspects of computing and communications security, including policy, authentication, authorization, administration, and business resumption planning. It will examine key security technologies, such as encryption, firewalls, public-key infrastructures, smart cards, and related technologies that support the development of an overall security architecture. Course work will include plans for developing and implementing a technology security strategy focused on business needs.

ECF 650: SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR LEADERSHIP

This experiential course emphasizes the importance of feedback and self-assessment for leadership development. It includes extensive assessment of each participant's management style and skills based on self-evaluations (using structured questionnaires) and feedback from co-workers, faculty, and other participants. Leadership development experiences emphasize time and stress management, individual and group problem-solving, communication, power and influence, motivation, conflict management, empowerment, and team leadership. Each participant identifies skills he or she needs to develop and reports on efforts to develop those skills.

ECF 655: FRAUD CASES: SPECIAL EXAMPLES

The opportunity to commit or conceal fraud exists only when there are assets susceptible to misappropriation and a lack of internal controls to prevent or detect fraud. This course will focus on the high-risk fraud environments wherein assets are more vulnerable to misappropriation and fraud environments heightened by either a lack of, or non-functioning of, internal controls. Various fraud investigative methods and the process for communicating an expert report will play an essential role in these studies.

ECF 658: DATA MINING

This course is an introduction to data mining, with an emphasis on applying machine learning techniques for data mining. Data mining involves digging information or knowledge out of a mass of raw data. Some practical applications include credit risk analysis and database marketing. Machine learning involves the attempt to get computer programs to acquire skills that they were not specifically programmed for and/or to improve with experience. Popular methods include methods of learning decision trees and decision tables, learning rules, and "lazy learning" – case-based reasoning. Students will look in detail at several learning methods and their variations and how the machine learning methods can be used for data mining, including which algorithms can be used productively for what tasks and what data. Also emphasized will be data preparation and evaluation of results. The course work will involve experimenting with public domain versions of famous machine learning/data mining programs.

ECF 665: COMPUTER DIGITAL FORENSICS

This course examines techniques used to conduct computer crime investigations and gather probative evidence to secure a conviction under state and federal laws. Students will simulate a computer forensic investigation by developing an investigation plan, securing the crime scene, analyzing evidence, preparing the case for court, and testifying in a moot court situation.

BUS 776: LAW FOR THE BUSINESS MANAGER

The course offers an intensive exploration of the law affecting contracts, sales, and commercial paper within the context of management decision making. Designed to fill the needs of students who have had no previous exposure to law courses by amplifying the students' legal knowledge and legal reasoning.

ECF 880: INTEGRATIVE CAPSTONE

The Capstone Project is an opportunity to pursue an independent learning experience focused on a specific aspect of Economic Crime Forensics based on the student's interest. The capstone is intended to extend students' experience beyond their course work and cases, so as to apply knowledge in ways that are relevant to their professional goals. Students will work on research projects or in an experiential learning environment. Each student will be required to present his/her capstone both as an oral presentation and as a summary written document.