Tag: Accounting students

AICPA Accounting Competition Offers Cash Prizes to Top (Pretend) Fraud Fighters

Are you an accounting undergrad interested in forensic accounting and cold hard cash? If you are, you might be interested in the 2011 AICPA Accounting Competition, which asks college students to flex their fraud and forensic skills in advising a fictional client on a major overseas expansion. The top three teams will strut their stuff in Washington D.C. on the AICPA’s dime, and the one that does the best job keeping the project on track — and on the right side of the law — gets a very legal $10,000. Legal if you pay taxes on the prize money, of course.


The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has launched its second annual case competition, challenging college students across the country to test their fraud and forensic accounting skills in a complex scenario that will earn the top performing team a $10,000 award.

The 2011 AICPA Accounting Competition, which unfolds in three stages, focuses on a fictional Texas company looking to expand its business into the Nigerian oil fields. The competition is open to undergraduate students at 2-year and 4-year degree institutions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Because this contest is open to any 2 or 4 year accounting students, this would be a great opportunity for a few future fraud fighters from smaller, less prestigious accounting programs – so if any enthusiastic professors happen to see this, please pass it along.

“The competition is an opportunity for students to get a hands-on, real-life understanding of one of the fastest-growing interest areas in accounting: fraud and forensics,” said Jeannie Patton, AICPA vice president for students, academics and membership. “Those who participate will hone their teamwork and leadership skills, deepen their understanding of financial risks in international business strategy and potentially bring national attention to their college or university.”

Participants in the competition must work in teams of four students, two of whom must be accounting majors. One of the accounting majors must serve as team leader. First round submissions, which are due September 30, will be evaluated to determine a pool of 10 semifinalists. Those semifinalists will compete for three finalist spots, a chance to travel to Washington, D.C. for the final round and three cash awards: $10,000 for first place; $5,000 for second; and $2,500 for third.

Entrants will be expected to outline, in 750 words or less, double-spaced, the top three fraud risks for High Prairie Construction’s plan to expand into the Nigerian oil fields. Would this move increase the risk of fraud within the company? Are there factors within the company’s culture that leave it vulnerable to fraud? Is High Prairie exposed to risk under the FCPA and UK Bribery Act? All of these are considerations you’d make in your summary.

Teams may register and find complete details on the 2011 AICPA Accounting Competition section of the This Way to CPA website.

Former Bucknell Accounting Student Accused of Serial Flashing Had a MO That Would Make Most Women Suspicious

Jay Patrick Knaub, the former accounting major from Bucknell University accused of flashing four girls between the ages of 12 and 16, was back in court yesterday with his victims present. CBS21 reports that a few of the charges have been dropped and other charges consolidated but the most surprising thing we learned was that Mr. Knaub’s modus operandi was something that would have most women backing away slowly from the car with their hands in the air.

Each time the Middletown resident and former Bucknell University student would reportedly drive up to the girls and ask for directions. At least twice he’s accused of showing them a map, and then moving that map to expose his genitals. [At least twice he’s accused of showing them a map, and then moving that map to expose his genitals.]

Because of the age of these girls, chances are they’ve never been in the presence of a man admitting to being lost and needing directions since that is something simply doesn’t not happen unless A) he’s being forced to do under duress (e.g. future sex is being withheld) or B) he is not from this planet.

Any woman that has ever been lost with a man, knows that stopping and asking anyone for directions is something that men simply do not have the capacity to do. Accordingly, any man waving them down from a car and saying, “I think I’m lost and need directions,” would have send them running, arms flailing and screaming for the nearest police officer.

Unfortunately, these young girls had to learn this life lesson in a very shocking way and not in the normal course of experiencing the stupidity of men.

Serial flasher faces his victims in court [CBS21]

Accounting Student Attempts to Explain How He Wound Up in a Looted Computer Store

Saffron Armstrong tried to explain that he had gone into a looted computer store because he was inquisitive – and a freelance journalist.

This drew sniggers from the press bench, but not from district judge Elizabeth Roscoe, who told him he faced a prison sentence. The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to burglary after being arrested in a PC World store in Colliers Wood, south London, the day after it was hit by looters. The accounting student from Mitcham, who also worked for Marks and Spencer, was remorseful and admitted his intentions had “not been for the best”. [BBC via AWEBUK]

(UPDATE 2) Bucknell Accounting Student Accused of Being Serial Flasher

Earlier today I was tipped to this story about a man accused of being a serial flasher in central Pennsylvania. Last week WHTM reported that Jay Patrick Knaub, a “straight-A student at Bucknell University” was accused of “20 counts including unlawful contact with minors, indecent exposure, and open lewdness.”

Right. So you can use your imaginations about what “lewd act” actually is but personally, “jerking off” or “spit-shining the ol’ water pump” comes immediately to mind. Maybe you have other ideas.

ANYWAY, Our tipster informed us that “this gentlemen may, in fact, be a [Big 4 firm] summer intern out of the Philadelphia office.” Right now I cannot confirm the firm in question but did find that a Jay Patrick Knaub who is a junior at Bucknell with a major in accounting. And yes, I also found a Jay Patrick Knaub on the prison list at Dauphin County Prison.

All this dong exposure started a few of weeks ago and fairly crude police sketch was put together before Knaub was arrested. Apparently, Knaub was getting pretty confident in his skills as the third incident allegedly occurred one block from the police department. Knaub was arrested on July 1 thanks to tips, “especially the description of Knaub as a ‘computer geek,'” as the Fox43 anchor put it.

I called Dauphin County Prison to see what I could find out more about the possible internship but the very nice woman who helped said that Mr. Knaub wasn’t interested in speaking with me. I also left a message with his attorney, Mr. Boyle, but have not heard back as of yet. Of course if you’re familiar with Mr. Knaub or worked with him, please get in touch. Updates to come.

UPDATE:
Some have noted in the comments that Jay Knaub hasn’t been found in their respective directories. This is because he isn’t in any directory. From our tipster:

I know that he was an audit intern, and was working on some of our Harrisburg area clients. From what I’ve been able to gather, he was fired a few weeks ago, but nobody was really told why. One of the other interns who went through training with him saw the story online [Monday], and it’s been circulating the office ever since.

Assuming Knaub was fired shortly after his arrest (over two weeks ago), the firm would have wasted no time in removing his name from the directory. I called the Philadelphia office of the firm in question, asked to be connected to Knaub but was told that he was not in the directory.

UPDATE 2:
If you’ve checked the directory lately, looking for Knaub’s name, you’ll find that it’s no longer in the directory. I’ve reached out to the registrar to find out what the story is but have yet to hear back. Will keep you updated.

Two San Jose State Accounting Students Killed in Bizarre Murder-Suicide

Cindy Caliguiran, 25 and Kyle Williams, 26, both accounting majors at San Jose State University in Northern California, were gunned down by Caliguiran’s 54-year-old engineer husband on Tuesday.

From the Mercury News:

Waiting with a gun on the fifth floor of the campus garage was her husband — a Silicon Valley engineer more than twice her age. A classmate heard the screams — then gunfire — reverberate through the concrete parking structure.

Within minutes, police found Cindy Caliguiran and Williams dead, shot repeatedly, in the front seat of her black 2005 Mercedes. Napoleon “Nappy” Caliguiran lay next to the car, mortally wounded from a self-inflicted gunshot.

On Thursday, shocked students and faculty members learned the identities of the first San Jose State students ever killed on campus — both honor students, both married, one with a job at a major accounting firm waiting.

But the campus community was still trying to comprehend why the 54-year-old native of the Philippines tracked down his bride of three years Tuesday night about 8:30 with a gun registered in his name.

All reports are Caliguiran and Williams were not romantically involved. Williams had been married for two years and was headed to PwC after graduation, while Caliguiran had been married to her nutjob husband, Napoleon “Nappy” Caliguiran (described as a “soft character” by his former brother-in-law), for three. Based on reports, you might conclude that he was jealous of his much younger wife’s friend:

The Caliguirans lived on the fourth floor of the Élan Village apartment complex in North San Jose. A downstairs neighbor who didn’t want to be identified said that although he never met the couple, about two weeks ago they were so loud upstairs that he called security. He was awakened by heavy stomping upstairs, he said. When asked whether the couple was fighting, he said, “something like that.”

SJSU shooting: 3 who died ID’d as student, 25; her husband, 54; another student, 26 [SJMN]

Attention Accounting Students Interested in Free Money

The following post is republished from AccountingWEB, a source of accounting news, information, tips, tools, resources and insight — everything you need to help you prosper and enjoy the accounting profession.

If you know an accounting student, or if you are an accounting student, get busy and get writing. The deadline for the AccountingWEB Accounting Student Scholarship is midnight Thursday, March 31.

The clock is ticking, but there is still a window of opportunity for accounting students to compose an essay of no more than 500 words with the topic, “There’s an App for That.” Essays will be judged on creativity, innovation, quality of writing, structure, logic, and, where applicable, sources and research.


Participation in the AccountingWEB Accounting Student Scholarship program is open to U.S., Canadian, and Mexican citizens who are students attending colleges, universities, and professional schools of accounting in North America. Students applying for the AccountingWEB Accounting Student Scholarship must have already completed at least one semester or two trimesters of full-time college and must be declared accounting majors, effective for the fall of 2011. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to enter.

The scholarship is a $1,000 one-time award, payable to the educational institution where winning students are in attendance as full-time students, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent, and who are declared accounting majors. Transcripts are required as evidence of this status. More details and a link to the online application are available in the Scholarship Rules.

Students can submit their application online or by U.S. mail. All applications must be postmarked or submitted by midnight Eastern time, March 31, 2011.

Click here to forward this message to your favorite accounting student!