The Utica University Master of Science in Forensic Accounting degree prepares graduates to work with accounting firms, law firms, corporate security, law enforcement, financial institutions, and government organizations to detect, investigate, prosecute, and prevent fraud and other financial crimes. The program combines graduate level accounting courses with elective courses in the areas of economic crime and cybersecurity. This significantly enhances the breadth and depth of forensic skills that students can obtain as Utica University has been a leader in these areas for several decades.
The program is designed for students who have a BS degree in accounting-although students with business degrees can complete the program by taking the Fundamental Courses. The MS in Forensic Accounting is an online program. In addition to covering forensics it helps prepare students for the CPA exam and CPA licensure. Combined with admission requirements this program provides graduates with at least 33 credit hours in accounting and 36 credit hours of general business. This curriculum meets the academic course requirements for CPA licensure in most states.
The curriculum for the MS in Forensic Accounting consists of 12 semester hours of required accounting courses (27 for students without undergraduate accounting degrees), a 3 credit hour required financial investigations course and a 3 credit course in quantitative methods. Students can complete the program in 5 semesters if they enter with an undergraduate degree in accounting and take 6 credit hours of classes per term.
Prerequisites for Admission to this Program
Before being admitted to this program, students must have completed at least 6 credit hours in accounting and 33 credit hours in general business courses including at least one course in each of the following:
- Microeconomics
- Statistics
- Finance
Accounting courses are not considered general business courses and cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
Student Learning Goals
Graduates from this program will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical and legal environment in forensic situations.
- Analyze and evaluate business transactions in order to detect fraudulent and misleading financial reporting and uncover financial crimes.
- Analyze data and apply legal, financial, and forensic techniques in specific engagement settings including fraud, bankruptcy, digital forensics, financial statement misrepresentation, damages, and valuation.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the techniques and models used for valuation, income reconstruction and damage calculations.
- Analyze financial and textual data using data technology to detect accounting fraud.
- Use the FASB Accounting Standards Codification to evaluate and design solutions for complex accounting cases.
- Apply an understanding of processes and concepts involved in performing a forensic audit.
