American University Forensic Accounting Graduate Certificate: Our 2027 Review

This certificate from American University's Kogod School of Business is built for people who already have a job and want forensic skills on top of it. Classes meet in the evening, you'll have up to four years to finish, and all 12 credits can count as electives if you later add a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science (MS) at American.

A Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner on the faculty keeps the teaching close to real practice.

American University is a private nonprofit university in Washington, DC, and its Kogod School of Business runs this Forensic Accounting Graduate Certificate. It's a 12-credit program, which works out to four courses of three credits each.

Kogod pitches it as a way to learn how to prevent, detect and investigate complex financial crimes, and it says the content covers fraudulent financial reporting, fraud schemes, investigation techniques, financial statement analysis, valuation and expert testimony. Classes are held in the evening, and the school gives you up to four years to complete the requirements, so the pace is yours to set.

Kogod School of Business is accredited by AACSB. The certificate prepares you for forensic accounting roles in international consulting firms, major corporations and law enforcement agencies. Kogod lists job titles that experts in the field hold, including internal auditing manager, operational risk consultant, senior forensic accountant, anti-money laundering specialist, fraud investigator, manager of forensic accounting, financial forensic analyst and senior forensic consultant.

Casey Evans, who teaches forensic accounting at Kogod, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). Before she joined the faculty, she'd worked in public accounting and forensic consulting on fraud investigations and regulatory enforcement matters.

Where this degree can lead: Forensic Accounting Jobs, Certified Fraud Examiner Certification.

• Working professionals in audit, compliance or risk who want evening classes and a four-year window to finish.
• Anyone planning an MBA or MS at American University, since the 12 credits can be applied there as electives.
• Readers with a bachelor's degree and at least one year of work experience, which is what the school asks for.
• People who like small classes, given the 19-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.
• Future fraud investigators and anti-money laundering specialists, two of the job titles Kogod lists for the field.

Three courses are required. Forensic Accounting: Fraud Examination and Litigation Support (ACCT 651) is the starting point. Its title tells you the two sides of the work: examining how a fraud happened, then supporting a case with the numbers.

Financial Statement Analysis (ACCT 677, also listed as FIN 677) teaches you to read statements closely, which is the skill the forensic courses lean on. Advanced Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation (ACCT 680) carries the study of fraud investigation further.

The fourth course is an elective, and you choose it with guidance from the accounting department chair. The catalog list includes Accounting Information Systems, Ethics in Business and Accounting, Contemporary Assurance and Audit Services, Data Analytics for Accounting, Advanced Auditing and Professional Practice, and Financial Management, among others.

If you're drawn to data work, Data Analytics for Accounting is there. If your day job is in auditing, Advanced Auditing and Professional Practice fits.

Kogod describes the whole program as three required forensic accounting courses plus a choice from eight electives. Together, that gives you a focused toolkit in fraud examination, litigation support, investigation methods and statement analysis.

Courses the School Names

• Forensic Accounting: Fraud Examination and Litigation Support
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Advanced Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation

Standout Features

• Classes are offered in the evening for working professionals
• Student-to-faculty ratio of 19:1
• The 12 credit hours can be applied to an MBA or MS program as electives
• Up to four years to complete the certificate requirements

American University points to its Student Accounts website for current tuition and fees, so that's the place to get the exact per-credit rate for the 12 credits. Since it's four courses, you can budget it course by course rather than as a multi-year commitment.

And if you go on to an MBA or MS at the school, you can apply the certificate's 12 credits as electives, so the work you've paid for keeps counting. Ask the admissions office about financial aid, employer tuition benefits and any non-degree billing details.

Kogod says classes are offered in the evening, which is the detail that matters for working professionals. You have up to four years to complete the certificate requirements, so you can take one course at a time, pause when work gets busy, or move faster when work isn't as busy.

Students interested in non-degree graduate business courses complete a non-degree application and send an unofficial copy of their most recent transcript. The school's small classes and 19-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio are meant to help you build a lasting network with classmates and professors.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• American University's faculty page describes Casey Evans, who teaches the forensic accounting courses, as a nationally recognized teacher with multiple awards for her classroom work.

  Source: American University website

• Are the evening classes held on campus in Washington, DC, online, or both?
• How many courses do most students take at a time, and can I take one per term?
• Which elective do students in my field usually pick, and how does the department chair help me choose?
• What is the current per-credit tuition and fee total for the 12 credits?
• If I join the MBA or MS later, how do the certificate credits count as electives?
• How do the forensic courses line up with the Certified Fraud Examiner exam?
• What does the one year of work experience requirement look like in practice?

A private university in Washington, DC; its Kogod School of Business offers the certificate.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 13 of 17, graduate certificate
• Best Graduate Certificates Rank 13 of 17, graduate certificate

• Rutgers University-Camden

  Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting

  New Jersey Score 65.8

• Neumann University

  Graduate Certificate in Accounting with Emphasis in Fraud and Forensics

  Pennsylvania $775 per credit Score 68.6

• St. Thomas University

  Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting

  Florida Score 56.4

• Amberton University

  Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting

  Texas $325 per credit Score 54.7