"You have an external auditor — that's like a guard dog. Maybe a bulldog," Crumbley told the Associated Press in a Deseret News story. "An internal auditor is a seeing-eye dog. And a forensic accountant is a bloodhound."
So according to Crumbley, forensic accountants are like bloodhounds — stubborn, independent and inquisitive, tracking a scent for miles until they find their target.
Look Beyond Numbers to Sniff Out Fraud
While forensic accountants may have sharp instincts, they need knowledge, training and skills to peer beyond the numbers to find fraud and those who commit it.
An advanced degree, such as the 36 credit-hour online Master of Business Administration in Forensic Accounting, from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke provides thorough knowledge, training and skills for the forensic accounting specialty. Along with its four concentration courses and eight core courses, the program lays a foundation to complete the requirements for Certified Public Accountancy and provides necessary competencies for becoming a certified fraud examiner.
What Can I Do Other Than Fraud Examiner?
Plenty of other opportunities are available to graduates with this degree, including external auditor and internal auditor, Crumbley's guard dog and seeing-eye dog, respectively. Then there are jobs such as operational risk consultant and anti-money laundering specialist. And, of course, you'd be qualified for accounting and accounting management.
Discover More Opportunities
By dissecting its concentration and core courses, you see the many opportunities this degree affords.
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CONCENTRATION COURSES |
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Course |
What You'll Learn |
Relevant Jobs Identified by PayScale and Indeed |
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Fraud Examination |
Types of fraud, techniques for investigating suspected cases, who commits them and how, and prevention methods |
· Forensic accountant · Forensic anthropologist · Field examiner · Fraud investigator · Detective or criminal investigator · Special agent/supervisory special agent · Intelligence analyst · Litigation support supervisor · Senior premium auditor · Accounting manager · Senior accountant · Staff accountant · Financial analyst
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Forensic Accounting |
Litigation support services provided by forensic accountants, such as modeling to compute commercial and economic damages |
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Legal Issues for Managers |
Types of business transactions and the commercial law environment where transactions are negotiated |
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Forensic Analytics |
How to use technology to find fraud in organizations, including analysis of numerical and textual data |
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CORE COURSES |
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Course |
What You'll Learn |
Relevant Jobs Identified by PayScale and Indeed |
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International Business |
Essential elements of international business with emphasis on applying behavioral and strategic management practices to global business environments |
· Project manager · Business development director/manager · Chief financial officer · Senior financial analyst |
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Organizational Theory and Behavior |
Explanations of individual behavior, nature of group behavior, organizational structures and processes, principles of organizational change and development |
· Human resources director/manager · Human resources business partner · Executive director · Office manager |
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Marketing Planning and Strategy |
Marketing's impact on strategic planning with emphasis on identifying and solving marketing problems, marketing strategy and issues facing marketing managers. |
· Vice president, marketing · Marketing director/manager · Senior marketing manager · Product marketing manager |
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Strategic Planning (capstone) |
Develop a strategic plan by creating one for a computer-simulated company while integrating knowledge from functional areas already studied |
· Vice president, business development · Vice president, strategy · Strategic partnership manager · Marketing strategist |
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Managerial Finance |
Explore time value of money, capital budgeting and structure, other corporate finance-related decisions, and basic microeconomic principles and accounting principles |
· Financial manager/controller · Corporate controller · Finance director/manager · Financial analyst |
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Managerial Economics |
Microeconomics and managerial economics, such as theory of consumer choice and demand. Macroeconomic analyses, including monetary institutions, theory of GNP and inflation |
· Economist · Corporate controller · Financial analyst · Data analyst |
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Qualitative Methods |
Intermediate-level quantitative skills in multivariate statistics, optimization and decision-making. Topics include multiple regression, multivariate ANOVA and logistic regression |
· Researcher · Research associate · Research specialist · Market research manager |
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Managerial Accounting |
Management's use of accounting data in decision-making, including estimating cost behavior using linear regression and multiple regression analysis |
· Data analyst · Data scientist · Business analytics specialist · Senior economist
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Learn more about UNC Pembroke's online MBA program with a Concentration in Forensic Accounting.
Sources:
Deseret News: Forensic Accountants Thriving
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE): Become a Certified Fraud Examiner
MBA Central: What Can I Do With a Forensic Accounting MBA?
PayScale: Salary for Skill: Forensic Accounting
PayScale: MBA, International Business Degree
PayScale: Organizational Development
PayScale: Salary for Skill: Market Planning
PayScale: Salary for Skill: Financial Analysis
PayScale: Economist, Corporate
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