Accounting Student and Faculty Awarded Data Grant for Fraud Research Study
JONESBORO – An Arkansas State University student and three accounting faculty members in the Neal Griffin College of Business have been awarded a data access grant to be used for fraud research.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Research Institute made the grant to Melanie Fortson of Cabot, a senior majoring in accounting and minoring in criminology, along with Dr. Hrish Desai, assistant professor of accounting, Dr. James Doering, HCJ CPAs & Advisors/Louis and Ann Schaaf Professor of Accounting and department chair, and Dr. Steve Muzatko, associate professor and H.B. Foster Bowdon Endowed Chair of Accounting.
The grant supports data access to the ACFE’s Reports to the Nations database.
“The A-State research team is using the ACFE dataset, along with data mining techniques and machine learning tools, to analyze fraud cases and identify how various perpetrator, incident and organizational characteristics differ based upon whether a confession is obtained,” Muzatko explained.
Additionally, the group will study the characteristic factors that differ based upon whether the case gets referred to law enforcement authorities and the interaction effects of confession with law enforcement action.
The ACFE Research Institute is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to research and education on the prevention of fraud, corruption and other white-collar crime. The institute works with academics and industry experts worldwide to generate research projects that explore the latest fraud trends and developments affecting individuals, businesses and governments.
