| Course | ACC-5010 Principles of Forensic Accounting |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Short paper on forensic accounting skills and knowledge |
| Length | About 980 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Science in Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 5010 Module 1
Hiring a Detective With a Ledger: The Skills a Hospital Board Should Look For in a Forensic Accountant
Student Name
Master of Science in Accounting, Thomas Edison State University
ACC-5010: Principles of Forensic Accounting
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Hiring a Detective With a Ledger: The Skills a Hospital Board Should Look For in a Forensic Accountant
Introduction
Delaware Bay Health's internal auditors noticed that payments to a small linen and uniform vendor tripled over two years while patient volume stayed flat. The finance committee asked whether its external audit firm could look into it or whether it needed a forensic accountant. The question is common, and the answer depends on understanding what forensic accounting is for. Crain et al. (2019) describe forensic accounting as the application of accounting, auditing and investigative skills to matters that may end up in a legal setting, from fraud investigations to damage calculations in lawsuits. This paper explains the difference from an audit and the skills the committee should look for.
How Forensic Work Differs From an Audit
The yearly audit is built to tell readers, with reasonable but not absolute confidence, that Delaware Bay Health's statements taken together contain no misstatement large enough to matter. It samples transactions, relies partly on controls and is designed around materiality, so a scheme that diverts $400,000 from a system with $1.2 billion of revenue may be too small to change the audit opinion. A forensic engagement starts from a specific concern and follows it wherever the evidence leads, testing every transaction with a vendor if necessary. Its product is not an opinion on statements but findings that may support a termination, an insurance claim, a civil suit or a criminal referral.
The audit firm also faces an independence problem: investigating a possible fraud that its own audits missed puts it in the position of reviewing its own work. For both reasons, the committee should engage a separate forensic accountant, ideally through outside counsel so that the work can be protected by privilege while the facts are developed.
Forensic work also has its own professional standard. When a CPA takes on litigation or investigation work, the AICPA's first forensic services standard applies, and it requires them to have the competence for the engagement, to plan and supervise it, to gather sufficient relevant data and to avoid opinions on whether someone committed fraud, a conclusion reserved for the trier of fact (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA], 2019). The standard gives the committee a benchmark for judging any proposal it receives: a candidate who promises to prove the purchasing manager guilty is promising more than the profession allows.
| Feature | Financial statement audit | Forensic engagement |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | The statements as a whole | A specific allegation or question |
| Scope | Risk-based samples guided by materiality | As deep as the evidence requires, often every transaction |
| Mindset | Professional skepticism within a reasonable assurance framework | Assume nothing; corroborate every explanation |
| Output | An opinion on fair presentation | Findings and, if needed, expert testimony |
| Audience | Investors, lenders, the board | Counsel, courts, insurers, law enforcement |
Skills the Committee Should Look For
Research on what practitioners value supports a broad set of skills. DiGabriele (2008) surveyed forensic accountants, academics and users of their services and found agreement that critical thinking, investigative flexibility, analytical proficiency, effective oral and written communication and an understanding of legal procedure matter alongside technical accounting. Translated into the hospital's needs, five skills stand out.
Investigative instinct comes first. The accountant should be able to plan an inquiry from a vague concern, decide what records to obtain, sequence interviews from peripheral witnesses inward and recognize when an explanation does not fit the documents.
Analytical and data skills follow. The vendor's invoices, purchase orders, receiving records and payments probably number in the thousands. A forensic accountant should be comfortable extracting data from the hospital's enterprise system, matching vendor records against employee records, testing for duplicate or round-dollar invoices and comparing linen volume to patient days.
Knowledge of the hospital setting matters as well. Healthcare purchasing involves group purchasing organizations, contracts with tiered pricing and departments that order supplies independently, so an investigator who understands those processes will spot anomalies faster.
Legal literacy is essential because findings may end up in court. The accountant must preserve evidence properly, understand the difference between civil and criminal standards of proof and know the limits of their role, leaving conclusions about intent and guilt to the people with authority to reach them.
Communication completes the list. The committee, counsel and possibly a jury must understand the findings, so the accountant needs to explain complex flows of money in plain language and with clear exhibits, and to withstand cross-examination without overstating what the evidence shows.
What Credentials Signal
Two credentials are common. The Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), awarded by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, requires passing an examination on financial transactions and fraud schemes, law, investigation and fraud prevention, along with relevant experience. The Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) credential, awarded by the AICPA, is available only to licensed CPAs and requires forensic experience and continuing education. A CPA license adds the professional standards and discipline of the profession. None of these guarantees good judgment. The committee should also ask for examples of similar engagements, whether the candidate has testified and survived cross-examination, and how they would approach the linen vendor question in the first month.
A Plan for the First Month
A capable forensic accountant would begin by securing the vendor's master file history, invoices and payment records before anyone is alerted, then compare invoiced linen weights with laundry processing capacity and patient days, check whether the vendor's address or bank account matches any employee's, and interview the receiving staff before the purchasing manager. Only after the documents are understood would the people closest to the vendor be interviewed.
Conclusion
Delaware Bay Health's concern falls outside what its annual audit is designed to answer. The committee should retain an independent forensic accountant through counsel, choosing someone with investigative, analytical, sector, legal and communication skills, and should treat credentials as a starting point rather than proof of fit.
References
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (2019). Statement on standards for forensic services No. 1. AICPA.
Crain, M. A., Hopwood, W. S., Gendler, R. S., Young, G. R., & Pacini, C. (2019). Essentials of forensic accounting (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
DiGabriele, J. A. (2008). An empirical investigation of the relevant skills of forensic accountants. Journal of Education for Business, 83(6), 331-338. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.83.6.331-338
ACC 5010 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
ACC-5010 grades its written work in two forms: answers to questions about eight case studies, worth 22 percent of the grade together, and four short papers, worth 40 percent together, all on topics tied to the modules. Module 1, Forensic Accounting Skills and Knowledge, introduces what forensic accountants do and what they need to know, using Crain and colleagues' Essentials of Forensic Accounting. Expect the opening paper to ask where forensic work parts from an audit and what a practitioner must know and hold, often for an organization that has just found something it cannot explain. This sample uses an invented hospital system to keep the discussion concrete; your prompt will name its own scenario.
How the ACC 5010 Module 1 example is put together
The paper begins with the problem that prompts the question, a vendor whose billings tripled, and defines forensic accounting with the course text. A comparison table shows how a forensic engagement differs from an audit on five features, followed by the independence reason for using a separate professional. The skills section starts from survey research on what practitioners value and translates it into five skills the hospital needs, each tied to the vendor problem. The credentials section explains two certifications and their limits, then suggests interview questions. A short plan for the first month shows the skills applied, and the conclusion gives the committee a clear recommendation.
ACC 5010 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks
Four short papers make up the biggest slice of ACC-5010, 40 percent, so this first one sets the tone for how your mentor reads the rest. The paper is judged on a correct picture of the forensic role, a clear distinction from auditing, skills and knowledge supported by research or the course text and application to a realistic situation rather than a generic list. Recognizing limits, such as independence and the role of counsel, shows professional maturity. Organization under headings, plain explanations and APA citations complete the expectations. Papers lose points when they simply list skills without explaining why each matters, or when they describe forensic accountants as people who determine guilt.
ACC 5010 Module 1 help from the desk
Students writing this first paper often produce a list of traits, honest, curious, detail-oriented, without showing how each would be used. Pick a scenario and explain what the forensic accountant would actually do with each skill. Keep the difference between auditing and forensic work precise: materiality, sampling and the form of the output are where they part. Do not overstate credentials; explain what an examination and experience requirement do show. Avoid claiming the forensic accountant decides whether someone committed fraud, since that conclusion belongs to a court. Send your Module 1 prompt and the organization it describes, and a writer will shape the paper to them; the opening sample is free.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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ACC 5010 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 5010 Module 1 sample paper?
Delaware Bay Health's short paper is printed above in full: how forensic work differs from an audit, five skills a hospital board should test for, two credentials and a first-month plan.
How is forensic accounting different from auditing?
An audit gives reasonable assurance on the statements as a whole using samples and materiality; a forensic engagement pursues a specific concern as deeply as needed and produces findings that may be used in legal proceedings.
What is the difference between a CFE and a CFF?
The CFE comes from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is open to non-CPAs; the CFF comes from the AICPA and requires a CPA license plus forensic experience.
What skills do forensic accountants need?
Investigative planning, data analysis, knowledge of the industry under review, legal literacy about evidence and standards of proof, and clear communication of findings.
Can a company's auditor investigate a suspected fraud?
It can help, but independence concerns arise when the auditor would be reviewing a scheme its own audits missed, so many boards hire a separate forensic accountant through counsel.