| Course | ACC 425 Interview Techniques/Legal Aspects Fraud |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 7 |
| Paper type | undergraduate admission-seeking interview plan with signed statement |
| Length | About 1,020 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | BS Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 425 Module 7
Asking for the Truth: An Admission-Seeking Interview Plan for a Suspected Kickback Scheme
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
ACC 425: Interview Techniques and Legal Aspects of Fraud
Project Two
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.
Asking for the Truth: An Admission-Seeking Interview Plan for a Suspected Kickback Scheme
Preconditions
An admission-seeking interview is appropriate only when the examiners have reasonable grounds to believe the person committed the conduct and have done everything possible to establish the facts first (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2023). For the produce buyer, four conditions are met. The price analysis shows the broker's share rising from 12 to 41 percent at prices about 7.5 percent above market, an estimated overpayment of $2.9 million. Bank records obtained through counsel show $285,000 paid by the broker to the brother-in-law's company, and $96,000 transferred from that company to an account held jointly by the buyer and his wife. The purchasing director and receiving supervisor have described the buyer's insistence on the broker. The buyer's email and laptop have been secured, and counsel has approved the interview.
Setting and Roles
The interview will take place in a private conference room in the administration building, at 9 a.m. on a weekday, scheduled for up to two hours. The forensic accountant will lead; the human resources director will take notes and act as witness. The door will remain unlocked, the buyer will be told at the start that he is free to leave at any time and he will be offered water and breaks. These steps support the voluntariness of anything he says, which matters for any later use (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004).
Opening
"Thank you for coming in. As you know, the company has been reviewing produce purchasing. Our review is now complete, and the records show that over the last three years the broker's share of our produce purchases rose from 12 to 41 percent, at prices above market, and that during the same period the broker paid your brother-in-law's company $285,000, some of which reached an account in your name. Before we draw conclusions, we want to give you the opportunity to explain."
The opening states findings precisely, without exaggeration and without accusing him of a crime. It gives him a clear reason to speak.
Presenting Evidence
If he asks what the records are, the interviewer will show them in order, from least to most personal: the price comparison charts, the vendor share by quarter, the conflict of interest forms he signed each year, the schedule of payments from the broker and the transfers to the joint account. Each is a real document; nothing will be described that the company does not have. Meissner et al. (2012) found that information-gathering approaches, which present evidence and invite explanation, reduced false confessions while maintaining true ones compared with accusatorial methods.
Themes
Themes help people admit conduct they are ashamed of. They must not misstate facts or suggest leniency. Three themes fit this case. First, family: "Sometimes something starts as helping a relative and gets bigger than anyone intended." Second, service: "You've been here fourteen years and built strong supplier relationships; maybe the broker took advantage of that." Third, fairness: "Maybe you felt the company didn't recognize what you did for it." The interviewer will not say that an explanation will affect discipline, prosecution or repayment, because he has no authority to promise that.
Handling Denials and Explanations
A flat denial is likely. The interviewer will not argue or raise his voice; he will return to the documents: "Help me understand how these transfers reached your account." If the buyer offers an explanation, such as that his brother-in-law consulted for the broker on unrelated work, the interviewer will ask for specifics, names, projects and dates, that can be checked later. If he asks for a lawyer or wishes to leave, the interview ends politely. A plan for ending without an admission is part of the plan: the company's case does not depend on a confession.
Confirming an Admission
If the buyer admits receiving money, the interviewer will establish a benchmark admission, such as "I knew the broker was paying my brother-in-law because I sent the broker our business," and then confirm details only a participant would know: when the arrangement began, who proposed it, how much he received, how prices were set and whether anyone else was involved. Details that match the documents strengthen the admission's reliability.
Signed Statement
The statement will use the buyer's own words where possible, in the first person, and he will read it before signing. It will include his name and position; the facts admitted, with approximate dates and amounts; his knowledge that the payments were connected to his purchasing decisions; his understanding that he violated the conflict of interest policy; whether anyone else was involved; and a closing paragraph stating that he gave the statement voluntarily, without threats or promises, that he was free to leave and that he has read and corrected it. Each page will be initialed. The interviewers will sign as witnesses.
After the Interview
The interview's end is planned as carefully as its start. If the buyer admits the scheme, the interviewers will thank him, explain that the company will decide next steps with counsel and arrange for him to leave the building with a human resources escort, without discussing discipline in the room. If he denies everything, the same exit applies, and the company's next steps rely on the documents. In both cases the interviewers will prepare a joint memorandum that day, file the signed statement or the notes of his denial with the chain of custody log, and brief counsel. Decisions about employment, a civil claim, an insurance claim or a referral to prosecutors belong to management and counsel, not to the interviewers, which keeps the interview itself free of any suggestion that his words were traded for an outcome.
Conclusion
The plan proceeds only after the evidence is strong and secured, presents real documents in a planned order, offers themes without promises or false claims, responds to denials with facts and confirms any admission with details before recording it in a voluntary signed statement. It is designed to produce a statement that is both true and usable, and to leave the company's case intact if no admission comes.
References
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. (2023). Fraud examiners manual (2023 ed.). Author.
Kassin, S. M., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (2004). The psychology of confessions: A review of the literature and issues. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5(2), 33-67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-1006.2004.00016.x
Meissner, C. A., Redlich, A. D., Bhatt, S., & Brandon, S. (2012). Interview and interrogation methods and their effects on true and false confessions. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 8(1), 1-53. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2012.13
What the ACC 425 Module 7 instructions ask for
Project Two in ACC 425 usually asks you to plan an admission-seeking interview with the subject of a fraud investigation and to draft or outline the signed statement that would follow an admission. Expect to cover when such an interview is appropriate, the setting and participants, how the interview opens, how evidence is presented, the themes or rationalizations offered, how denials and alibis are handled, how the admission is confirmed with details only the person would know and what the written statement must contain. Most versions expect attention to legal and ethical limits. Explain why each element is designed as it is, and make clear what the interviewers will not do, such as threaten, promise leniency or misrepresent evidence.
How this ACC 425 Module 7 project two example is built
The plan sets four conditions before the interview: price and payment analysis complete, corroborating interviews done, evidence secured and counsel's approval. Two interviewers meet the buyer in a private room, with the door unlocked and his freedom to leave stated. The opening describes the investigation's findings accurately. Real documents are presented in order: the price comparisons, the payment schedule, the conflict of interest forms. Themes, such as a family favor that grew, help an honest account without excusing the conduct. Denials are met with documents, not raised voices. If he admits, details such as amounts and dates are confirmed. A statement records the facts, his intent and that it was given voluntarily.
Where the ACC 425 Module 7 rubric puts the points
Rubrics for ACC 425 Project Two typically score the decision to proceed, the planning of setting and roles, the opening, the presentation of evidence, the themes, the handling of denials, the confirmation of the admission and the elements of the signed statement, along with attention to legal and ethical limits. Top papers proceed only on strong evidence, keep every statement accurate, avoid promises and threats, confirm admissions with specific facts and draft a statement that shows voluntariness. Graders reward plans that anticipate likely defenses and include a plan for ending the interview without an admission. Common deductions include bluffing about evidence, implied promises of leniency and statements that omit intent.
ACC 425 Module 7 help: the mistakes that cost points
Admission-seeking plans most often lose points by borrowing interrogation tactics that undermine the statement's value, such as invented evidence or hints that cooperation will save the person's job, and by stopping at a general admission without the specifics that make it credible. Another common gap is having no plan for a firm denial, which is a likely outcome. If your project involves a subject with a lawyer present, a public employee or a union member, the procedures change and the plan should say how. Script the first two minutes word for word; the opening sets the tone for everything that follows and is where most plans are weakest.
Get ACC 425 Module 7 written to your instructions
Send the ACC 425 Project Two guidelines, the case and the rubric. The plan will set preconditions, roles and setting, script an evidence-led opening, choose lawful themes, plan responses to denials and draft the signed statement's elements. There is no fee for a first request, which usually takes two days. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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ACC 425 Module 7 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 425 Module 7 Project Two sample?
This page holds a complete ACC 425 Module 7 Project Two admission-seeking interview plan and signed statement outline for a kickback case.
When is an admission-seeking interview appropriate?
When the examiner has reasonable grounds, usually strong documentary evidence and corroborating interviews, to believe the subject committed the act, and when counsel has approved the approach.
What is a rationalization theme?
A face-saving explanation the interviewer offers, such as financial pressure or a favor that grew, that makes it easier for the person to admit conduct without the interviewer excusing it or making promises.
What should a signed statement include?
The person's identity, the facts admitted with dates and amounts, knowledge and intent, any others involved, and a statement that it was given voluntarily without threats or promises.
Can an interviewer promise leniency for a confession?
No. Promises of leniency can make a statement involuntary or unreliable and the interviewer usually lacks authority to keep them.