An MBA in Forensic Accounting and Finance is the first of its kind course in India where the aspirants will be trained to develop skills needed to investigate corporate fraud, says Dr Tapan Panda
What does the term corporate fraud investigator mean to youIJ For those of you with a penchant for taut corporate thrillers, you’re familiar with office sleuths, in grey trench-coats, who go about nabbing big-time embezzlers, money launderers, and the like. While such dramatic things do happen in the real world too, a corporate fraud investigator is someone who also plays an important role in an office’s day-to-day functioning.
As the number, size and scale of corporate operations increase in India, the demand for skilled professionals, who can ensure the company’s principles aren't compromised at every level of management, has also gone-up. From identifying a fake reimbursement bill, to detecting fraud at the highest level, the job-profile is versatile and crucial to ensuring organisations are ethically consistent through rank and file.
For those seeking to embark on a corporate career, not only is corporate fraud investigation a lucrative option, but one where there’s a high demand given the lack of skilled professionals with the requisite expertise in India. Now, you can even acquire an MBA degree while honing your skills as a fraud investigator. The BMl Munjal University (BMU), founded by The Hero Group, has launched a two-year full-time MBA programme in Accounting and Finance with a focus on Forensic Accounting and Corporate Fraud, in association with KPMG.
This shall be the first course of its kind in India, and will train aspirants to develop skills relevant to the highly specialised job.
The course offers several incentives to students. First, it will be mentored by Imperial College london with support from the university's own distinguished faculty. Ranked eighth in the QS World University Rankings 2015, the college has previously played a key role in establishing IIT Delhi.
The course has also been co-designed by KPMG, one of the Big 4 accounting firms in the world. Experts from KPMG will provide real world challenges and examples for project experience.
This programme offers a new career alternative to students of commerce, CA, ICWA, CS and allied areas. The programme structure includes core courses, which help students grasp theory and business fundamentals; skill courses that allow students to acquire a range of life skills needed to be successful at the workplace like communication and presentation, leadership; perspective courses that help students see the larger picture, contextualise problems, and acquire a better understanding of the core; and elective courses which give students the freedom to explore and develop expertise in subjects that interest them.
The thrust of the programme is on practical know-how. Not only will this be gained by working on fraud investigations, large anti-money laundering and regulatory remediation, and on fraud prevention projects but also through doing projects for one of the big 4 consulting and advisory organisations.
The course will impart skills scientifically, but also in a manner that prepares students for the dynamic challenges of the industry, is this area. The focus is on relevance, and actual work skills, which is what makes the course invaluable for corporate fraud investigation aspirants.
ElIGIBIlITY
For those interested in pursuing a course in this field, following is the eligibility criteria
PROSPECTS
As glamorous as the profession may sound, the reality of this line of work is far removed from the popular perception of it. Depending on the firm that a graduate eventually works with, and the area of specialisation, the work would involve:
For those committed to enrolling for the course and later carrying out such responsibilities an MBA in Accounting and Finance, with an emphasis Forensic Accounting and Corporate Fraud Investigation, is an excellent option.
(The writer is the dean, School of Management at BMl Munjal University)