Best Master's in Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics in 2027

The Fraud Examination Focus

Three major courses carry the fraud focus of this degree. Identity Theft and Computer-Related Fraud digs into e-commerce fraud, money laundering and deterring identity theft, while Fraud Examination looks at what makes fraud happen and how it is investigated and resolved. You also learn to build a fraud response plan, present a case, and support it with litigation support and expert testimony techniques.

The Fraud Examination Focus

The coursework digs into how fraud happens and how to stop it, from the types of corporate fraud to assessing fraud risk and judging whether internal controls hold up. A legal course adds white collar crime statutes, investigatory protocols, and evidence protection and chain of custody. Another takes you into specialized schemes in healthcare, insurance and government contracting, with case studies and investigative exercises.

The Fraud Examination Focus

The coursework includes white collar crime, the fraud triangle and the principal types of fraud, money laundering, fraud prevention and ethics, and the psychology and criminology behind financial and cyber crimes. In Financial Statement Examination you cover detecting statement fraud, economic damages and lifestyle analysis, and Comprehensive Fraud Investigation covers gathering evidence, report writing and working with attorneys.

The Fraud Examination Focus

CRJ555 Fraud Examination and Prevention looks at the act of fraud, its motivations and symptoms, and how it is prevented, detected and resolved legally. CRJ556 covers fraud as a civil cause of action and a crime, plus the role of the expert witness. CRJ557 Fraud Investigation reviews sources of evidence, and CRJ558 Fraud Data Analysis has you work with Benford's Law and bank records.

The Fraud Examination Focus

Hundreds of common employee schemes are examined, from financial statement fraud and asset misappropriation to bribery and corruption, plus industry fraud in healthcare, insurance and securities. A legal course covers the civil and criminal systems that apply to financial crime. In the investigation course you plan an examination, analyze documents, interview suspects and trace transactions with data analysis and digital forensics.

The Fraud Examination Focus

ACT510 covers the types of fraud, what motivates perpetrators, and how organizations prevent, detect and deter it. The emphasis then takes you deeper with ACT557, Advanced Fraud Investigations and Forensic Accounting, and ACT558, Fraud and Forensic Accounting Data Analysis. The school designed this path for students who want to become fraud investigators or forensic accountants.

The Fraud Examination Focus

In this coursework you learn to prevent and deter fraud, conduct an investigation, work within the legal environment around fraud, and read financial transactions for signs of fraud schemes. Weekly assignments build investigative skills along with professional memos, presentations, original research and interviews. The studies also reach tax fraud, money laundering, white-collar crime and the ethical standards that the professional association for certified fraud examiners identifies.

The Fraud Examination Focus

You examine case studies of fraud that resulted from poor internal controls and management's ability to override them, study criminal and civil law as it applies to fraud examinations, and become competent at writing legal briefs. A fraud analytics course puts data mining and case management software to use on simulated forensic auditing cases, and a cybercrime course has you present how each case was uncovered.

The Fraud Examination Focus

Fraud study is required here: the Fraud Examination course and the Forensic Accounting course both sit in the core. The curriculum also covers fraud detection, cybercrime investigation, business valuations and expert witness preparation, and you gain skills in tax research, fraud investigation and audit communication. A capstone on current accounting topics finishes the degree.