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overview
This 27-credit Advanced Specialty Certificate has been designed to meet changes that have occurred in the securities markets and in their economic, legal, and political environment following the fiascos of Enron, WorldCom, and others. These financial disasters have not only caused major losses to investors, but have also resulted in decreased confidence in market mechanisms and controls. In the area of securities fraud, it is often private-sector individuals who are best positioned to provide early warning of potentially fraudulent practices. Individuals in these positions include financial analysts, business valuators, financial planners, insolvency and restructuring professionals, underwriters, professional accountants, internal auditors, and others whose profession involves the analysis and assessment of a company's operating and financial situation. It is unfortunate but true that, in many major financial fraud cases, the warning signs of fraud are present for all to see, but they are unnoticed or overlooked by the very analysts whose job it is to advise others about just such indicators. The proposed certificate program will close this knowledge/skills gap.
This program aims to provide a well-rounded curriculum that focuses on financial analysis and other relevant skills for the purpose of detecting securities fraud. The intention is to strengthen the economy by preparing a growing pool of financial-analysis professionals with the skills required to detect fraud before significant losses occur, thereby contributing materially to investor confidence. The goals of this program are to provide students with the knowledge and skills to:
- Review financial statements and other disclosures supplied by issuers and reporting entities for the purpose of identifying the presence of qualitative and quantitative indicators of potential securities fraud
- Conduct directed, effective investigations of initial suspicions using open-source information, forensic interviews, and other means for gathering and analyzing evidence
- Formulate reasonable conclusions and report findings in a clear and convincing manner
- Assist in criminal or civil investigation and in prosecution or litigation, up to and including testimony in court or before an administrative tribunal
The Program
This program consists of nine three-credit courses, for a total of 27 credits. All courses are offered online. For particulars, please see the Program Matrix below.
program entry
Entrance requirements
The specialized subject matter of this program dictates that persons entering it have already attained a certain level of sophistication in the interpretation of financial and economic information. Accordingly, entrance to the proposed program will be open to persons who have demonstrated their knowledge and experience by having earned one or more appropriate professional and academic credentials, including, but not limited to:
- Chartered Financial Analyst
- Chartered Business Valuator
- Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional
- Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute
- Professional accountants (CA, CGA, CMA)
- Ph.D. or MBA in accounting, finance, or a related field
- Foreign equivalents of the foregoing (NOTE: The equivalency of foreign qualifications and credentials will be performed by the International Credential Evaluation Service at BCIT. Applicants are required to order a Comprehensive Report.)
In addition, a formalized alternate entry process may be applied to assess the education, experience, and qualifications of applicants whose training and background may make them suitable candidates, notwithstanding their lack of formal professional credentials. All applicants will be required to provide a clean criminal record check as well as reference letters from employers, clients, or others who can attest to their professional competence and integrity, before being accepted into the program. Re-admission RequirementsContact the Centre for Forensic and Security Technology Studies at 604-412-7539, 604-412-7436, or 604-412-7433; or email to forensic@bcit.ca
BC provincial exams
For programs beginning in August 2007 or later which require Grade 12 Math and Science courses, BCIT will not require the applicant to write the provincial exam. Provincial exam marks will still be required for English 12, Communications 12, and Technical and Professional Communications 12.
Apply to program
Course registration requires approval from the Forensics Department.
Contact the Centre for Forensic and Security Technology Studies at 604-412-7539, 604-412-7436, or 604-412-7433; or email forensic@bcit.ca
PLAR
Prior learning assessment is allowed in accordance with BCIT policy. Please contact the Centre for particulars.
costs & supplies
Refund policy
This program is subject to limited and a minimum enrollment. Lack of sufficient enrollment will result in BCIT canceling specific intakes of the program and will then entitle all accepted students, of that specific intake, to a full refund of all fees paid.
courses
Program delivery
The program will be delivered entirely by distance education, using BCIT's WebCT course platform and the Eluminate Live virtual conferencing capability. For some courses, students will be supplied with fully functional versions of commercial software that is used extensively in the field of fraud analysis for the purpose of allowing them to gain hands-on experience with these tools. Particularly in the advanced-level courses, considerable use is made of case studies for the purpose of examining fraudulent accounting and reporting and exploring and applying methods of detecting such wrongdoing. Practical application will be a particular focus of the forensic interviewing course. In the forensic data analysis course, students are provided with proprietary computer-assisted audit software and data-mining software and assigned various analytical tasks involving sample databases. The Centre for Forensic and Security Technology Studies offers flexible scheduling, which is determined by the student audience and part-time instructor availability. The Institute holds three academic terms per year, beginning in September, January, and April. To the greatest extent possible, course offerings are scheduled to allow students to cycle through their program of studies by taking one or more courses per term, as their professional and personal schedules permit.
Program matrix
| 1. Required Courses: |
Credits |
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FSCT 7231 |
Forensic Interviewing for Investigators
The success of any investigation at any level is dependent on the investigator obtaining evidence and presenting it in a manner that is acceptable to the courts. Often this evidence is information supplied by people involved in incidents. The amount and veracity of this information is of utmost importance. In this course, candidates learn and practice methods and techniques available for interviewing victims, witnesses and suspects to obtain proper, informative and legal statements that will both aid in the investigation and are acceptable to the courts. Prerequisite: Admission to Program or permission of the Dean.
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8421 |
Investigation of Securities Crimes
This course introduces various Criminal Code and Securities Act infractions particular to the Canadian securities markets, and to the techniques used by the financial crimes investigator to identify, investigate, and prosecute these offences. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensics credential program or permission of the Program head.
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8430 |
Tactical Analysis 1
Students in this course will focus on the various duties performed by tactical analysts in law enforcement. The students will study the 5 stages of the analysis cycle (planning, collection, collation, analysis, dissemination) and complete a variety of assignments and tasks associated to each of those stages. To complete the tasks, students will use word processing and charting software programs. The majority of the course will focus on the students' ability to collate and analyze the information provided to them. They will then develop their analytical skills in order to effectively target and profile deviant and criminal individuals and groups. The students will use their analytical skills to develop logically sound arguments for a variety of law enforcement actions. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensics credential program or permission of the Program Head.
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8440 |
Forensic Accounting
This course provides some basic forensic accounting tools and techniques necessary to develop and report in financial information regarding criminal investigations. General topics such as expert independence, information sources, rules of documentary evidence, and financial interviewing are covered, as well as forensic accounting approaches to investigating a number of specific criminal offences. Prerequisite: At least one post-secondary course in accounting.
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8460 |
Corporate Fraud and Financial Crime
This course provides students with a knowledge of some specific types of commercial fraud and abuse, including asset misappropriation, falsified statements, corruption, and conflict of interest. Characteristics of each type of abuse, as well as indicators, detection, and prevention, will be covered. Specialized topics, such as anti-competitive offences, risks involved in foreign operations, due diligence requirements, and anti-money-laundering and antiterrorism legislation are also canvassed. Topics of particular interest to investigators will be the use of computers in the detection of fraud, the conduct of internal (corporate) investigations, and the remedies available to organizations that have been victimized by commercial crime. The orientation of the course will be toward those who have responsibility for the prevention, detection, and investigation of commercial crime in a corporate/private-sector context. It will be of particular interest to students who are employed, or who may be considering a career, in the private sector, in an area such as security, internal audit, quality control, or risk management. Prerequisites: 60% in FSCT 8440
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8490 |
Forensic Data Analysis
Forensic Data Analysis involves the examination of organizational data to identify patterns that match known fraud profiles. The patterns sought may be logical (e.g. vendors having the same mailing address as employees) and/or numerical and statistical (e.g. duplications of specific digits, digit patterns and combinations, specific numbers, and round numbers) patterns in corporate data. In addition, forensic data analysis involves the use of neural-net and other data mining technologies to gain knowledge regarding databases and to develop models for fraud detection, prediction, and prevention where known fraud patterns are lacking or obscure. Upon completing this course, students will be able to develop a fraud scenario, translate this scenario into a fraud profile, and apply appropriate detective tests to a corporate database. Students will be given the opportunity to employ proprietary computer-assisted audit software and data-mining software to practice databases for the purpose of applying their learned skills. Prerequisites: 60% in FSCT 8460
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8491 |
Fraudulent Financial Statements
Beginning with coverage of the environment in which financial statement fraud occurs, students will proceed to learn how to use financial statements and other disclosures for the purpose of assessing the quality of financial reporting and identifying potential signals of manipulation. Students will then proceed to cover more complex issues, including business combinations, executive compensation and employee benefits, and the use and misuse of derivatives and special-purpose entities. Prerequisites: 60% in FSCT 8421 and 60% in FSCT 8490
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3.0 |
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FSCT 8520 |
Internet for Investigation
The Internet consists of about ten billion pages of information yet many investigators and analysts make only superficial use of this amazing resource. This course was designed for those who need to search more aggressively and use information more carefully than the general public. The intention of this course is to turn those who already have some computer and Internet experience into power users of the Internet and to reveal how the Internet can augment their traditional investigative methodology. It covers not only technical issues, but includes how to formulate good search strategies and mine the Invisible Web. Students develop and refine their search skills in the first half of the course. The second half introduces tools and techniques to make searchers more efficient, effective, and secure. The course concludes with a module on cybercrime. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensics credential program or permission of the Program Head.
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3.0 |
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LIBS 7002 |
Applied Ethics
Fosters abilities and values required for ethical decision making at work. Develops skills in logical analysis, a working knowledge of moral principles and theories, and the ability to diagnose and resolve moral disagreements commonly found at work. Examines and applies moral principles to historically famous cases in manufacturing, human resources, management, engineering, health care, and computing. Prerequisite: Equivalent of three credits of university/college composition or six credits of BCIT Communication.
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3.0 |
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| Total Credits: |
27.0 |
Check current availability of courses for this program.
Transfer credit
Do you have credits from another BC/Yukon post-secondary school? Do you want to know if
they transfer to courses here at BCIT? Check out BCIT's
Transfer Equivalency Database to find out.
program details
Grading
For all courses, the passing grade is 60%
Program location
Distance Education
Continue your education
Courses taken as part of this program may be applied towards completion of the Bachelor of Technology in Forensic Investigation, provided that the student meets the entry requirements for that degree program.
graduating & jobs
Job Opportunities
Current events in the legal and political arena (such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act in the U.S. and the proposed Canadian equivalent) are dictating an increase in analytical, compliance, and enforcement staff. This trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Graduates of this program may pursue careers as:
- Investment analysts for institutional investors, such as insurance companies and pension funds
- Bank and trust company lending officers
- Compliance officers with securities brokerages, underwriters, and investment bankers
- Analysts in private practice as investment advisors, bankruptcy professionals, and business valuators
- Investigators and enforcement officers with agencies such as provincial securities commissions, RCMP Commercial Crime Section, Integrated Market Enforcement Team, and the Financial Investigations Commission
Apply for graduation
Upon successful completion of all program requirements, complete an Application for BCIT Credential [PDF, 561 KB] and submit to Student Information and Enrolment Services.
Allow approximately six to eight weeks for processing.
All financial obligations to the Institute must be met prior to issuance of any credential.
Credential
Advanced Specialty Certificate
Professional associations
Students admitted to this program will normally be members in good standing of a relevant professional association. A number of professional associations have acknowledged that the education offered by BCIT Forensics offers knowledge and value beyond that which their members gain in attaining their basic professional credential. Accordingly, they award continuing professional education (CPE) credits for forensics courses taken at BCIT. These associations include:
- Certified General Accountants Association of BC
- Certified Management Accountants Society of BC
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
- Institute of Internal Auditors
- American Society for Industrial Security
- Information Systems Audit and Control Association
faculty, advisors & staff
Advisory committee
- Bud Bishop, Vancouver CCS
- Joan Brockman, SFU (Criminology)
- Brian Gardiner, CJW Forensics
- Virgil Hlus, Clark Wilson LLP
- David Jan, Canfor (CIRI)
- Nina Leemhuis, CFO, British Columbia Institute of Technology
- Tina Peters, CGA Association of BC
- Mike Ryan, Vancouver IMET
- Fred Snyder, Dundee Wealth Management
- Colin Topley, Topley and Company (CGA, CIRP)
- Larry Wilkins, British Columbia Securities Commission
As BCIT strives to keep our programs current, programs and courses are subject to change without notice.
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