Ask me a question, part 2

In September of 2006, I attended a fraud and forensic accounting education conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for sharing information about the National Institute of Justice Model Curriculum Project. One of the sessions included a discussion of the Adrian Project — an interactive presentation developed by an IRS criminal investigation special agent, Stephen Moore, for use with students. (The Adrian Project got its name from Adrian College where it was first used with students in 2002.)  The IRS special agent who was leading the session put me in touch with Tim Shanahan, then an IRS public relations officer and special agent based in Rochester, New York, who helped me host our first Adrian Jr. Project on campus. (The Adrian Jr. Project is a shorter version.) Since then, Tim and his team of agents have regularly shared their time and expertise with my classes — always a highlight for my students. Tim has spent several semesters teaching fraud examination classes at other colleges in our area. In part 2 of this column, Tim shares his thoughts on practical exercises to use in developing interviewing skills. — Pat Johnson

In the May/June issue, we looked at the importance of teaching interviewing skills to students and introduced the framework for a practical scenario-based method for providing a live interviewing experience to students.

In this column, we'll discuss the details of how instructors can prepare in-class practical applications so students can develop and practice their interviewing skills. I'll supply the specific steps of preparation and execution of the in-class practical interview exercise.

The exercise preparation and execution involves these steps:

1. Decide on the type of fraud scenario you wish to create

This is dependent on many factors, including the type and experience level of the students, and the educational objectives of the class and instructor. The scenario must relay the background of the situation and provide enough detail so the students understand what they're trying to accomplish.

I suggest making the scenario realistic but not too complex. An over-complex scenario often forces students to spend too much time on the documents and not enough time thinking about interviewing.

In the sample scenario I provide, I've laid out the basic steps for a non-accomplice vendor-billing scheme. The scenario briefly discusses the company involved, what information has led to the initiation of a fraud examination and the background of the employees who might be involved. The scenario also discusses the basics of the purchasing, receiving and payment processes of the victim company.

2. Create the financial books and records for the scenario

This is probably the most time-consuming aspect. For the scenario I've used, I prepared invoices and accompanying checks. You can create your own professional invoices and checks with any word processing software. Google "create invoices” and "checks for free” to find other options.

You can customize your documents to highlight learning points. In my scenario, I created invoices from three companies along with the checks used to pay each invoice. Only one of the companies has false invoices associated with them.

In the false invoices, I inserted invoice numbers and dates that were out of sequence, used a different billing address and billed in whole-dollar amounts. The false invoices also contained initials of company members that were obviously different from the legitimate invoices. The checks related to the false invoices were endorsed in a different name and deposited into a different bank account.

3. Arrange for role players

In my scenario, I use four role players to play the various company employees who the students interview. I realize that recruiting role players might be difficult, so you need to be creative. I have the luxury of using fellow special agents from my office. However, you can enlist fellow faculty members, alumni or students from other classes. Also, check with your ACFE chapter, CPA firms or law enforcement officials for volunteers. It's not necessary, but it's best if your recruits have interviewing experience.

Provide your role players with the scenario and documents ahead of the interviewing session. I can't overstate that role players must take their parts seriously to provide an effective learning environment.

4. Provide scripts to role players

The scripts inform the role players about the level of involvement in the fraud and the demeanors they should adopt for the interview. The scripts should contain specific instructions about what the role players should or shouldn't reveal during the interview.

5. Divide your class into groups and distribute the scenario with related books and records to the students

Ideally, you should give students the scenario and related documents at least one week prior to the scheduled interviews so they have time to create a realistic experience. My scenario is based on a class size of 16; I break the students into four groups.

6. Arrange space for the interviews

This will vary according to your situation. Because the scenario I typically run is designed for 16 students divided into four groups of four, I use my main classroom and three nearby classrooms/offices or conference rooms. If possible, the rooms you use should be as close as possible to each other so time isn't wasted traveling between locations.

7. The day of the practical exercise

The exercise is designed to run for approximately 1½ hours with these segments:

• Introduction, 15 minutes: In the main classroom, I introduce the role players — both their real identities and their characters — to the students. One role player stays in the main classroom and the other three proceed to their assigned rooms. I also assign each of the groups the order in which they'll conduct their interviews.
• Interviews, one hour in four 15-minute increments: Each group of four rotates between each of the classrooms with a different student taking the lead role as the interviewer in each 15-minute session. Thus, each group visits and interviews all four locations, and each student has a chance to be the lead interviewer during one interview. (If I have less than four in a group, some students will be the lead for more than one interview.) When not acting as a lead interviewer, each of the other students in the group sits quietly and takes notes. If they're not the lead interviewer, I instruct the other students to only ask questions if the lead is finished or if the lead interviewer begins to struggle.
• Debrief, 15 to 30 minutes: After all groups have completed their interviews, the entire class and role players meet back in the main classroom. During the debrief, the role players praise good points and mention general areas for improvement.

I ask the role players to focus on the basics when they provide feedback. Did the interviewers keep a proper distance from the role players? Did they have good posture? Did they keep proper eye contact with the role players? Did the interviewers initiate proper introductions and attempt to achieve rapport? Did they ask appropriate open-ended questions? Were they professional?

8. Post-interview write-up.

I require my students to provide reports that are due at the next class that summarize the interviews and include an analysis on the type of fraud and evidence uncovered.

Better than hours of lectures

During the 11 years I've been using scenario-based interviewing practical exercises in the classroom, students have praised the activity in their semester-end student evaluations. Many students are nervous before and during the interviews, but most eventually love the exercise.

The information I shared in these two columns is just a guide. Adjust to fit your situations. The scenario and documents are springboards for other creative ideas. Your scenarios don't have to be perfect. Just getting our students to ask role players they don't know about a fraud can instill more confidence and knowledge than hours of lectures and textbook readings.

Tim Shanahan is a special agent/polygraph examiner for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS Criminal Investigation Division. His email address is: Timothy.Shanahan@ci.irs.gov.

Patricia A. Johnson, MBA, CFE, CPA, is the program coordinator of the Master's in Science in Forensic Accounting program at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She's chair of the ACFE Higher Education Advisory Committee. Her email address is: johnsonp@canisius.edu.