Online Forensic Accounting Course and Class Overviews

Courses in forensic accounting provide students with in-depth study of corporate investigations, as well as emphasize the forensic accountant's role in the prevention of financial fraud. Forensic accounting courses, which are offered in hybrid and fully online formats, often are part of an undergraduate or graduate degree program in forensic accounting. They also might lead to a graduate certificate in the field.

Online Forensic Accounting Courses Summary

Forensic accounting courses are aimed at students interested in enhancing their accounting knowledge while developing investigative skills. Online forensic accounting courses often lead to a Bachelor of Science in Business Forensics, Graduate Certificate in Fraud and Forensic Accounting or Master of Accounting in Forensic Accounting. Graduates of forensic accounting programs might find careers with major accounting firms that deal with economic crime investigations, civil litigation assistance, acquisition and merger investigations, tax investigations and specialized audits.

Online Forensic Accounting Course Requirements

Students enrolled in online forensic accounting courses are required to have a computer with Internet access. They also must have an e-mail address for communication with instructors. Coursework may call for utilization of textbooks, audio files, video files and Web conferencing software. Students may be required to be online at specific times to submit assignments or take exams.

List of Popular Online Forensic Accounting Courses

Introduction to Forensic Accounting Course

This course gives an overview of the forensic accounting specialty, focusing on its growing importance in corporate investigations and litigation. Students explore investigative methods used by forensic accountants and learn how forensic accountants' findings play into the legal process.

Foundations of Managerial and Financial Accounting Course

Students are introduced to fundamentals of the accounting process, including financial statement preparation, company disclosure requirements and financial information interpretation. They come to understand income statements, balance sheets and cash flow reports, as well as learn to identify red flags for fraud. Students explore discrepancies that can lead to fraudulent financial reports, ways that fraud can occur and methods of analysis used to determine fraud. This course generally can be waived if a student has equivalent experience.

Computer and Internet Fraud Course

Students in this course learn about legal issues in computer fraud. They also explore viruses and other Internet intrusions, common types of computer fraud, e-mail monitoring and security system applications. Other topics of discussion include avoiding computer hacking and implementing an effective information security policy.

Special Study on Fraud Detection and Prevention Course

Students explore environments that are at high risk for fraud due to misappropriation of assets and insufficient internal controls. They learn to identify vulnerable areas in an organization, perform fraud risk assessments, identify suspicious management behavior and create fraud reports based on findings. This course also focuses on fraudulent income and asset transfer in the context of divorce and bankruptcy cases.

Financial Statement Analysis Course

This course teaches students to understand and analyze financial statements with an eye to detecting financial fraud. Students learn about business-related financial documents, including income statements, profit and loss sheets, balance sheets and cash flow statements. This course demonstrates the impact that acquisitions and mergers can have on financial documentation and ways that fraud can occur.

Detection and Prevention of Financial Reporting Fraud Course

Students explore types of fraud that might be encountered within an organization's accounting department, along with techniques used to assess the risk of financial fraud. They learn about actions that can lead to financial fraud, and topics include asset valuations, off-balance sheet liabilities, conditional sales, improper expense capitalization and fraudulent sales. This course emphasizes what to look for when doing a risk assessment and how to prevent fraud from occurring.