Samford University's Brock School of Business will be hosting the Internal Revenue's "Project Adrian" Student Fraud Conference and Exercise on Friday, March 30, beginning at 8 a.m. and lasting to 4 p.m. 

The conference will be an interactive experience that involves a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Brock School of Business in which students will be involved in hypothetical situations to investigate fraudulent practices.   

Some of the hypothetical situations will include business owners skimming funds from their company, a bar owner who keeps two sets of books, a multi-filer tax scheme and a drug trafficker. Each group of students will have an experienced IRS Special Agent, who coaches them through the six- hour investigation of the scenarios presented. The students may start the day with an anonymous informant, a meeting with local law enforcement or even a bag of trash. The students will use the leads to take their next steps by talking to witnesses, played by volunteers. At the end of the investigations, the students will then meet as a group to discuss and be evaluated by coaches on their findings during the exercise.  

"Building on the increasing interest of students in investigating fraud through forensic accounting, the 'Adrian Project' is a unique program that places college students into groups, assigning them to solve one of three hypothetical financial crimes," said Lowell Broom, department chair, Accounting and Information Systems. "The objective of this project is to introduce students to forensic accounting as a career option, and this day-long exercise is a perfect way for our accounting students to get hands-on experience in this area."