Find The Fraud—Crack the Case The news is filled with financially fraudulent fiascos and some of the most high-profile, high-stakes cases are handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI has more than 2,000 accountants on its payroll. While some focus on more conventional finance and accounting functions, even more use their accounting know-how to investigate financial crime and help put bad guys behind bars. It’s a tough job, but fascinating. YOUR TASK: Research a financial fraud case that the FBI solved that interests you. Not sure where to start?
Once you have identified a case, answer the following questions and be prepared to share your answers with the class:
1. Describe the basic details of the case. What was the crime? When did the crime(s) occur? Where? Who was involved? What was the outcome?
2. Why was the FBI involved vs. local police?
3. Why would accountants be essential to solving this case?
4. What ethical dilemmas may the accountants involved in this case need to consider?
5. List 3 accounting skills that the accountants involved in the case would have needed to demonstrate to succeed in solving this case.
6. If you were assigned to this case, what would be most challenging about working on this case?