Course Syllabus ACC 3370
Fraud Examination
ACC 3370 Fraud Examination [3 Cr]
Mrs. Mary Jane Dugan, Associate Professor
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Mansfield University
Summer 2008 Semester
This class meets online utilizing Blackboard learning platform. There are dedicated days
and times for exams associated with the course. The course is scheduled to run June 30th
through August 1st, 2008, five weeks.
Instructor contact information:
Email: mdugan@mansfield.edu
Telephone: 607 – 737 – 0718 During the summer my home is my
office. Please call between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. except during
online exams. During exams, I am on-the-job, call me as
needed.
Prerequisites:
ACC 1110 and ACC 1111, Principles of Accounting I and II or the equivalent.
Textbook:
W. Steve Albrecht and Chad Albrecht, Fraud Examination, 2nd edition [South-Western
Publishing, 2006] ISBN: 032430160X
Other Course Materials:
In addition to the text, other readings, usually from online sources including e-reserves, will
be provided. We will also make use of cases for discussion. Videos on various fraud
topics are provided by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners as the basis for
discussion. Students must post substantive contributions to the discussion board [or other
communication source] on Blackboard as the instructor directs.
Assignment Schedule for ACC 3370
Course Objectives:
The course is designed to provide prospective managers, investigators and auditors an
awareness of the extent and significance of fraudulent activity, and an understanding of
the methods and techniques of prevention and detection. Consideration is given to
asset misappropriations and to fraudulent financial reporting, along with the role of ethics
and corporate governance in minimizing fraud.
Grading:
Weekly quizzes covering basic information in the textbook. It also includes the
completion of orientation tasks. Orientation tasks must be completed by July 6th,
midnight, in order to receive credit. Otherwise, a grade of zero will be recorded
Hand-ins: One page hand-ins on selected class topics
Class participation: includes posting comments to the discussion board regarding 4
videos.
Online presentation on a fraudulent financial reporting case
Course Syllabus ACC 3370
Fraud Examination
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Grading: [Preliminary – subject to modification]
Quizzes & orientation
SHS case study,
Enron PowerPoint, &
2006 Report to the
Nation
Fraudulent
Financial statements
presentation
Video discussion&
50% [listed as quizzes on Blackboard]
15% [listed as homework on Blackboard]
20% [listed as presentation on blackboard]
15% [listed as attendance on Blackboard]
100%
Course Procedure:
The course is built around learning by reading, case discussion, and research projects.
Cases are an important part of the course, as they allow us to learn from experience.
Some cases will be discussed online only. Each student must contribute a minimum of
one substantive comment to receive credit equivalent of a “C”. Those who contribute
above the minimum will earn additional credit. The instructor must use professional
judgment in separating “A” contributions and “B” contributions. Good writing impacts
your grade, as well, as substantive comments.
Extra-credit assignments will not be made or accepted.
All assignments are due at the time and date posted on the assignment schedule. Late
work is not accepted and you will receive a zero for the assignment.
Blackboard:
Blackboard (Bb): This class is administered through the Blackboard website maintained
by the State System of Higher Education. Instructions to enroll in the Bb site have been
emailed to your Mansfield email address.
Blackboard navigation buttons on the left side of the screen you see when you log into
Blackboard include the Content areas, generally as follows:
course information content area includes syllabus, assignments and due dates,
instructions, and helpful information
course documents includes PowerPoint presentations often used in class, solutions
to textbook assignments,
assignments includes orientation tasks, upload assignment links, and exams. Be
sure to keep some $$$ in your account to print off important documents if you
use Mansfield University computer labs.
discussion board includes a message board where you can post messages or
Course Syllabus ACC 3370
Fraud Examination
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read other people's comments on any topic that is discussed. There are several
forums set up for this semester besides the Practice Conference and Helping
Each Other Conference.
Students must use their Mansfield email account to communicate with the instructor.
Quizzes: There are five quizzes scheduled; one at the end of each week.
Each quiz covers two chapters of textbook material. You will access the
quiz through Bb. The exams are to test basic knowledge from the
textbook, and the posted presentations of classmates. They are all
multiple-choice or true/false in style. The exams are timed and are openbook. You must prepare/study in advance to do well. You will not have
time to look up much material in your textbook/notes due to the time
limitations I must set. The idea of the exam is to encourage you to learn
the basics well enough to know to respond to multiple choice-type
questions quickly.
Required Exam Time: All participants in the course must complete the five
quizzes. The first exam will be given at 9:00 PM on Monday evening, July
9th. To access the exam you must be logged into the course website
between 8:00 and 8:10 PM. If you are unable to take the exam at this time
you should contact the instructor as soon as possible. The final is
scheduled for Friday evening 8:00 PM August 1st. The grades are due
Monday, August 6th.
The quizzes content area is accessed by clicking on the quizzes navigation
button on the left-hand side of the Blackboard website. If you arrive
before the quiz link is posted please press the "Assignments" button every
minute or so to refresh the page. You have missed the quiz if you do not
begin taking it by 8:10 PM.
Finally, you should take your exam on a reliable, freshly restarted
computer with only one window open. This will minimize the possibility of
computer crashes or freeze-ups during the exam. Exam problems will be
handled in the following ways:


You forget a quiz or are out-of-town
Your quiz is unsuccessful because of a computer problem or
human error:
Contact your instructor at her home phone number immediately. Exam
time is work time for me. I welcome your call for help. Repeat missing of
quizzes, however, will result in students receiving a zero for the quiz.

You exceed the time limit on a quiz: One minute of overtime is not
penalized because the clock on the Blackboard server starts
before the quiz loads on your computer. One point will be
deducted from your score for each additional overtime minute.
Course Communication Policy:
Course Syllabus ACC 3370
Fraud Examination
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Your instructor believes that communications about assignments, course
policy and content should be available to all students in the course. It
would be unfair for her to give advice by email or phone to one student
and not to all others in the course. We will place all of these discussions in
the open by using the "Helping Each Other" conference. Posting your
questions in this conference will be your fastest method of obtaining
assistance. Your instructor will read this conference at least once every 48
hours and respond to questions as needed. In many instances one of your
classmates will know the answer and respond before your instructor's next
visit to the website. This is how things should work and your instructor
encourages communications among students. Any questions about
course content or course policy that are sent to the instructor will be
returned to the sender with instructions to post them in the "Helping Each
Other" conference.
Questions about grades or matters of private concern should be sent to
your instructor by email message from your Mansfield University email
account. This allows your instructor to communicate grades and other
private information with some assurance that she is communicating with
the proper person. Questions about such matters sent from outside email
accounts will be returned to the sender without answers.
Use your Mansfield email account for all communications with your
instructor.
Instead of holding office hours a couple times per week, your instructor will
normally check and respond to the Helping Each Other Conference a
couple times per day. You can be assured that she will respond no less
than once every 48 hours unless previously announced. This should be
adequate to take care of nearly all typical communications. I
Your Study Schedule:
If you are coming into this course thinking that online study is a way to
"click your way to three credits" then you will be in for a rude awakening.
Be prepared to spend a significant amount of time completing this
course.
When you take an on-campus course, you spend about 3 hours per week
in the classroom. In addition, you should spend an even larger amount of
time reading, going to the library, completing homework, writing, and
studying for tests. It is not unusual for students who have completed an
online course to report that they spent more time doing the work than they
would have expected to spend in an on-campus course.
The key to success is self-motivation and perseverance. Set some special
work hours every week and stick to them. Learning at home requires
much greater dedication than learning on-campus. This course allows you
great flexibility as long as you meet the inflexible deadlines.
Course Syllabus ACC 3370
Fraud Examination
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You can begin working as soon as the course is available for enrollment.
The amount of time needed to complete a lesson will vary depending
upon the length of the lesson, and your reading speed.
Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty, including copying of another's work or permitting the
copying of another's work is strictly forbidden. Any incidence of academic
dishonesty will be prosecuted to the fullest extent under Mansfield's existing
policies and procedures. A definition of academic dishonesty is included in the
student handbook, the Mountie Manual. You may work together on homework
assignments that are to be handed in. However, each submission must be typed
by the individual whose name is on the assignment. In other words, copying a
homework and handing the copy, or a slightly altered form of the copy, more
than once is considered copying, even if you worked on it together. It is not fair
to expect the instructor to distinguish work that was done together from a total
copy job. In an age of electronic transfer, copying is far too easy. Be careful
about giving your work electronically to another student to 'look at:' it can be
easily duplicated and passed around. Read an important statement on copying
included in the Course Information content area of Blackboard. Avoid these
severe consequences by being proactive with your work.
Any students with documented psychological or learning disorders or other significant
medical conditions that may affect their learning should work with Mr. William Chabala in
our Counseling Center (100a Hemlock Manor, Phone: 662-4798; e-mail
wchabala@mnsfld.edu) to provide me with an appropriate letter so that I may serve their
particular needs more effectively. If you have an exceptionality that requires class or
testing accommodations, Mr. Chabala will work with us to identify and implement
appropriate interventions