New Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting Debuts for Fall 2019

In the marketplace and in the news, forensic accounting enjoys a rapidly expanding footprint: Fraud investigation, auditing, and complex decision-making call for prowess in tracking patterns of financial transactions and identifying discrepancies, notes Lynda Schwartz ‘86, director of Isenberg’s new Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting.

The four-course certificate sequence, designed for working professionals, will help meet the growing demand for accountants who understand forensics. Students can work at their own pace, taking one or two courses per semester either online or in person at UMass Amherst’s Mount Ida campus in Newton, just eight miles from downtown Boston.

Schwartz, who has taught forensic accounting at Isenberg since developing the school’s first colloquium on the topic in 2015, is a 26-year veteran of Ernst & Young and helped found the firm’s Fraud & Dispute Services practice in New England. Today, she consults independently with a range of companies on anti-fraud and compliance issues.

In the first two courses—Introduction to Forensic Accounting and Exploring Data Analytics—students will gain a foundation in the forensic discipline. The subsequent courses—Fraud Investigation and White Collar Investigation—will arm students with additional forensic accounting and legal skills.

Eric Forni ’04, the program’s white-collar investigations specialist, is a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. His course invests business professionals with skills to meet today’s legal and regulatory challenges. And Matt Sherwood, an Isenberg accounting professor, offers nuanced insights in data analysis and financial statement auditing.

Students considering enrollment in Isenberg’s Master of Science in Accounting program will be able to transfer credits from all four forensic certificate courses to the MSA program.