Students help fraud victims through new program

As college students apply for summer internships in their field, a group of Gonzaga business students in the Masters of Accounting program are not only gaining experience in their major, but are helping the Spokane community through a new program called the Justice for Fraud Victims Project.

Students in the project work with the Spokane Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners to investigate cases of suspected fraud in Spokane. The students use forensic accounting to determine if financial loss occurred, how it was committed and the estimated amount of monetary loss.

"The cost of obtaining a fraud examination by a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) is often prohibitive for victims such as small businesses and non-profit organizations, so this project's goal is to provide them with forensic accounting assistance," said Dr. Sara Melendy, professor of accounting and one of the founders of the project.

Melendy, along with accounting professor Dr. Gary Weber and Spokane law enforcement, put together the project last summer after being approached by Jill Bolton, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

"[Bolton] expressed frustration that some victims were unable to obtain forensic accounting investigations due to lack of resources," Melendy said. "When she asked if our graduate accounting students might be able to help, I eagerly agreed to see if we could create a program that would serve the local community."

Melendy and Weber formed a committee including the Department of Justice and the Spokane chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

"Within a few weeks, the group determined that I would teach the first pilot class in the spring 2010. The class has been a huge success so far," Melendy said.

The Gonzaga professor wasn't the only one excited about the formation of the JFVP. Business students were eager to apply their knowledge of accounting to real world situations. 

"The practice of fraud and forensic accounting is interesting and the opportunity to work in this capacity is so unique for the University environment," senior accounting major Kris Ryan said. "I was very attracted to the idea of being able to offer assistance to victims that are facing the effects of possible fraudulent activity in their organization."

The program consists of 12 students, divided into groups of three, each group investigating a different fraud case. Students spend on average five to seven hours per week on cases.
"The faculty and students of Gonzaga University continue to surpass my greatest expectations about their ability to turn the simple idea of the JFVP into an actual forensic accounting program for the local fraud victims," Bolton said in a Gonzaga press release.

Students look forward to using the knowledge they have learned with the JFVP in the business world and hope their experience in forensic accounting will open the door to more job opportunities after graduation.

"I have enjoyed this project so much because it allows me to apply the accounting knowledge that I have gained over the past four years," Ryan said. "I hope to incorporate the investigative aspect of fraud and forensic accounting into my career."

The class has been such a success, that Gonzaga is not only planning on offering it again in the fall, but is hoping to develop the JFVP into a center funded by grants, community groups and private donors, the press release stated.

"We hope to leverage on the success of this project to develop a Center for Forensic Accounting, focusing on not only the continuance of the JFVP, but also on development of research in this area as well as resources to aid small businesses victimized by fraud in the Inland Northwest and across the United States," Weber said in the press release.