Forensic Accounting and the Use of Technology
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Forensic Accounting and the use of technology:
The Toronto Sun
October 4, 2009 Sunday
FINAL EDITION
Investigate the world of forensic accounting
BYLINE: BY SHARON ASCHAIEK, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. CE11
LENGTH: 733 words
Lately, cooking the books seems to be a national pastime in some corners of North American corporate culture.
Over the last several years, Canadians and Americans have witnessed a rash of accounting and financial fraud incidents, including the debacles at now-bankrupt WorldCom and Enron, the Martha Stewart stock scandal, and recently, the largest Ponzi scheme in history allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff.
One effect of the stronger public spotlight on this increasing -- or perhaps just increasingly detected and prosecuted -- white collar crime is greater demand for qualified forensic accountants, and consequently, an increase in both the number and popularity of programs or courses in this area.
"There is an exponentially greater level of attention being paid to the world of fraud, and I think that's why our enrolment is up," says Cameron McCaw, instructor in the Fraud Investigation and Forensic Accounting program at Seneca College.
Typically attracting about 15 to 18 students per intake, the two-semester graduate certificate program drew about 30 students this past fall.
Introduced about six years ago and, according to McCaw, was the first of its kind in Ontario, the program provides students with in-depth training in uncovering fraud, financial disputes and other such irregularities in today's business world. Participants gain technical skills and practical knowledge in fraud investigation, law and ethics, and computer and systems technology.
"We take high-profile cases of fraud and financial wrongdoing, such as Bernie Madoff,
Conrad Black and Garth Drabinsky, and we ask: Why did it occur? Where did the system break down? What can we learn from it?"
Forensic Accounting and the use of technology:
The Toronto Sun
October 4, 2009 Sunday
FINAL EDITION
Investigate the world of forensic accounting
BYLINE: BY SHARON ASCHAIEK, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. CE11
LENGTH: 733 words
Lately, cooking the books seems to be a national pastime in some corners of North American corporate culture.
Over the last several years, Canadians and Americans have witnessed a rash of accounting and financial fraud incidents, including the debacles at now-bankrupt WorldCom and Enron, the Martha Stewart stock scandal, and recently, the largest Ponzi scheme in history allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff.
One effect of the stronger public spotlight on this increasing -- or perhaps just increasingly detected and prosecuted -- white collar crime is greater demand for qualified forensic accountants, and consequently, an increase in both the number and popularity of programs or courses in this area.
"There is an exponentially greater level of attention being paid to the world of fraud, and I think that's why our enrolment is up," says Cameron McCaw, instructor in the Fraud Investigation and Forensic Accounting program at Seneca College.
Typically attracting about 15 to 18 students per intake, the two-semester graduate certificate program drew about 30 students this past fall.
Introduced about six years ago and, according to McCaw, was the first of its kind in Ontario, the program provides students with in-depth training in uncovering fraud, financial disputes and other such irregularities in today's business world. Participants gain technical skills and practical knowledge in fraud investigation, law and ethics, and computer and systems technology.
"We take high-profile cases of fraud and financial wrongdoing, such as Bernie Madoff,
Conrad Black and Garth Drabinsky, and we ask: Why did it occur? Where did the system break down? What can we learn from it?"