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2014/2015  BA-BHAAV6001U  Fraud and financial reporting

English Title
Fraud and financial reporting

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Course period Autumn, Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 80
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Dominyka Sakalauskaite - Department of Accounting and Auditing (AA)
Main academic disciplines
  • Business psychology
  • Financial and management accounting
Last updated on 20-02-2014
Learning objectives
After having completed the course the students should be able to:
  • Explain the psychology of fraud and the role of a organization
  • Explain the nature of financial statement fraud
  • Explain the different methods of perpetrating financial statement fraud
  • Identify methods to prevent financial statement fraud
  • Identify methods to detect financial statement fraud
Course prerequisites
Required: Introductory course in financial accounting (or equivalent)
Recommended: Knowledge of financial reporting at intermediate level
Examination
Fraud and financial reporting:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period December/January
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below and the exam plan/guidelines for further information:
  • Books and compendia brought by the examinee
  • Notes brought by the examinee
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Course content and structure
The complexity of financial statement fraud has gained considerable attention over the past few years and will continue to gain. This course is designed to gain an understanding of the different types of financial statement fraud and the methods to prevent and detect it in any organization.

The course opens up by understanding why people commit fraud and how organizations can create the culture for fraud. Then we will look at nature of financial statement fraud and how it differs from other types of occupational fraud. Further on, we will focus on the most common financial fraud schemes and accounting principles that each violates. And finally, we will look at the principles of fraud prevention and will discuss the wide range of detection tools, from the simplest of ratios to complex analyses and tests, as well as fraud indicators.
Teaching methods
The course will consist of a combination of research and theory based lectures, illustrative and real-world cases. There will be some home-work assignments during the course. They will not be graded but discussed in class. Therefore, students are expected to read the provided material and make necessary assignments at home.
Expected literature
  • Financial Statement Fraud: Strategies for Detection and Investigation, by Gerard M. Zack (Foreword by Dr. Joseph T. Wells), John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2013
  • Articles and additional reading
  • Forensic Accounting, 4th International Edition, by Mark F. Zimbelman, Conan C. Albrecht, W. Steve Albrecht and Chad O. Albrecht, Engage Learning, 2012 (OPTIONAL)
Last updated on 20-02-2014