West Virginia University: Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation (FAFI)

In the summer of 2003, in the wake of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, and other high profile corporate fraud allegations, West Virginia University's (WVU) Division of Accounting launched an effort to develop a new academic program to address the challenges facing professional accountants and auditors. To implement the curriculum and accomplish that goal, Division Director at the time, Ann Pushkin, solicited the participation of Bonnie Morris, a professor with an information systems and continuous auditing background, an Richard Riley, who had been providing litigation advisory consulting services to practicing attorneys. WVU believes that the long-term sustainability of the specialized field of fraud and forensic accounting will depend on the ability to test those tools and techniques currently used in the field, as well as the ability to research new innovative ideas to fraud and forensic accounting issues. For their society, the need for trained fraud and forensic experts continues to grow.