This guide is for ACCT 660 Week 4 Individual Research Project Part 1, start to submission. A 2,000-word background of your chosen company and its IT-enabled fraud: how it was done, how it was discovered and who was involved, with at least 5 sources.
ACCT 660 is Information Technology and Fraud, 3 credit hours, in Liberty University's MS in Accounting. Canvas and the course guide file print the code as ACCT660; it is the same course.
| Course | ACCT 660 Information Technology and Fraud |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 4 |
| Points | 175 points |
| Length | At least 2,000 words |
| Sources | At least 5 resources (news articles, government websites and similar publications are acceptable) |
| Faith integration | Not required by the guide |
| Format | Current APA |
What ACCT 660 Week 4 Individual Research Project Part 1 asks for
You choose a company where fraud occurred in the last 10 years at least partly through information technology. Part 1 gives an in-depth background of the company and the fraud, including how it was discovered and who was involved, in at least 2,000 words with at least 5 resources; given the subject, news articles, government websites and similar publications are acceptable. It is due in Module/Week 4 with Nigrini chapters 9 and 10. Worth 175 points.
Where it fits in ACCT 660
In the published schedule, Individual Research Project Part 1 is one of 8 graded written assignments in ACCT 660. It follows Week 3 Reading Outline 1 and comes before Week 5 Discussion Board Forum 3.
How ACCT 660 Week 4 Individual Research Project Part 1 is graded
Liberty grades Individual Research Project Part 1 with the rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas, worth 175 points in the published guide. That is about 17% of the course's 1,010 points. Read the rubric first. Each row is a criterion, and the wording of the highest column is the closest thing you have to a model answer.
Course grades in ACCT 660 use Liberty's point scale: an A is 940 to 1010 points of the course total. Missing the length or source minimum usually costs points on several rows at once, which is why the checklist below starts with them.
Timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Check the due dates in your Canvas section, which govern.
The ACCT 660 Week 4 method, step by step
Turn the instructions into an outline
Start from the assignment instructions in Canvas. Every element the Individual Research Project Part 1 instructions name becomes a heading in your outline, in the order given, and the rubric rows tell you how deep each one has to go.
Narrow the topic until it fits the length
At least 2,000 words is not much room. Choose a question narrow enough that you can answer it fully inside that length; a broad topic forces summary, and summary scores lower than analysis.
Collect sources before drafting
Build the source list before the draft (At least 5 resources, news articles, government websites and similar publications are acceptable). A short evidence table (who, when, what they found, which section it serves) prevents the late scramble for citations that weakens most papers.
Write a thesis that the sections prove
Draft the thesis before the body. A ACCT 660 paper reads as organized when each heading answers part of the thesis, and as a list of facts when it does not.
Draft section by section, analysis first
Write each section to answer its rubric row, then add the analysis: what the evidence means, where sources disagree, and what follows for practice. Description supports the analysis; it cannot replace it.
Format and check against the rubric
Finish with an APA pass and a rubric pass. Match every in-text citation to a reference, check the headings, and read each rubric row against the section that answers it.
Build a timeline from the sources (when the scheme started, key events, discovery, charges) and use it to organize the narrative. Prefer primary sources such as DOJ press releases, SEC complaints and court filings for facts, with news coverage for context.
A structure for ACCT 660 Week 4 Individual Research Project Part 1
Word targets are planning numbers for about 2,000 words of body text, set by the length in the guide; the rubric decides where to spend more.
| Section | What it must do | Target |
|---|---|---|
| The company | Business, size and systems. | ~320 words |
| The fraud | What was done and how IT was used. | ~680 words |
| Discovery | How it came to light. | ~400 words |
| People involved | Perpetrators, enablers and investigators. | ~320 words |
| Outcome | Losses, charges and consequences. | ~280 words |
A topic angle that works
Focus the background on the technology: which system was used, what access the perpetrator had and which control was bypassed. Part 2 will build its detection plan on exactly those facts.
Model paragraph with notes
An original paragraph written by our desk to show the register that earns full rubric credit. It is study material: learn the moves, then write your own.
The scheme ran through the company's accounts payable system. The AP supervisor, who had rights both to create vendors and to approve payments, set up three vendors using addresses she controlled and approved invoices from them for more than four years.1 Because the system did not flag vendors sharing an address with an employee, and no one reviewed new vendor setups, the payments, totaling several million dollars, blended into routine spending.2
- Names the system.
- Explains the access.
- Shows the control gap.
Mistakes that cost points on ACCT 660 Week 4
- A fraud older than 10 years.
- No IT element.
- Under 2,000 words.
Checklist before you submit
- Length: At least 2,000 words
- Sources: At least 5 resources (news articles, government websites and similar publications are acceptable)
- Title page and reference page in current APA format
- Headings follow the order of the instructions
- Each rubric row read against the section that answers it
Questions students ask
How long is ACCT 660 Project Part 1?
At least 2,000 words with at least 5 resources.
How many points is ACCT 660 Week 4 Individual Research Project Part 1 worth?
175 points in Liberty's published course guide for ACCT 660, out of a course total of 1,010 points (about 17% of the grade). The rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas shows how those points are divided.
Is ACCT 660 Week 4 the same in every section of ACCT 660?
This guide follows Liberty's published course guide for ACCT 660. Liberty notes that course content can change from term to term, so if your Canvas section shows different instructions, a different week or different points, follow Canvas and your instructor.
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