Reference no: EM133848386 , Length: word count:2500

Forensic Accounting

Case Study - Company Overview

Darpa Company (‘Darpa' or ‘Company'), which is a pharmaceutical firm associated with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is based in San Francisco, California, and helps other corporations sell and market their pharmaceutical products.

Case Scenario:
The General Counsel of Darpa has been given an anonymous tip in the private and confidential employee contact form informing the company about a possible fraud being committed in the finance department (Tabe 1).

At the request of the Darpa's General Council, your forensic team at a leading audit firm has been assigned to this case. You are working as a first-year associate and are expected to exhibit a certain level of analytical skills, an ability to analyze data, discover anomalies and prepare for potential interviews. Hire best assignment help now!

Furthermore, as per the standard forensic accounting procedure, your Business Intelligence unit has compiled a number of resource data, for example, the background information (table 2), preliminary asset tracing, financial statements and company emails (Appendix 1 and 2). The analytics team has further synthesized Darpa's financial data to support the investigation.

As you can see, the complaint provides very limited information although it is a very serious allegation. The General Counsel has hired your team to investigate this further, some of the questions that need to be answered are, who has been committing the alleged fraud? And how is it being committed? Also, they are interested in knowing the financial impact of this situation on their company. Members from the Analytics and Discovery teams have done some work supporting evidence gathering to support the case.

Working as a young forensic accounting associate in a renowned forensic accounting firm, you are expected to use the skills are techniques you have acquired over time not only as an accountant and business manager but also as an expert witness who is expected to fulfil the stringent legal requirements of standing in court as a forensic analyst.

Requirements
Based on the information provided in the case, Table 1, 2 and Appendix 1 and 2, you are required to submit a Forensic Investigation Report covering the following questions:

Question 1: Prepare for a kickoff meeting with the Darpa Company General Council and prepare a list of 20 most relevant and useful questions that you will ask them with respect to uncovering this fraud. The questions should be concise, well thought off, open or close-ended. (6 marks)

Question 2: After reviewing Darpa's financial and employee information, identify at least 5 red flags that provide an indication or evidence of possible fraud (5 marks)

Question 3: Based on your experience with the Forensic accounting course and the recent technological enhancements in forensic investigation, what skills/knowledge/technical expertise should be needed to resolve a case like this?

Question 4: Based on your understanding of the "fraud triangle," discuss the possibility of the existence of the three elements of the fraud triangle in this case study

Question 5: Compile a summarized Fraud Investigation Report after conducting your analysis to be presented to your firm

Case Study Analysis and Presentation

Assessment Details - The purpose of this forensic accounting case study assessment is to enhance practical skills, critical thinking, and knowledge application by simulating real-world scenarios, allowing you to navigate challenges faced during interviewing, evidence gathering, fraud assessment and understanding the complexities of forensic investigations.

The investigation aims to expose you to real-life challenges faced by forensic accountants in solving financial fraud investigations,
Students can use this kind of case studies to critically examine the forensic evidence uncovered during their investigation and analyse it to determine if they think the suspects are guilty or innocent

The assessment also aims to familiarize students with integrating different forms of evidence information provided by the company and encourage them to conduct a "link analysis" keeping in mind different circumstances and actions within an
organization.

The assessment involves information regarding a company that receives an anonymous tip. Further supporting documents include employee background information, digital data and financial information.