| Course | ACC 646 Introduction to Forensic Accounting/ Fraud Exam |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | graduate milestone analyzing evidence and tracing funds |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 646 Module 6
Analysis of Hauling Invoices and Tracing of Funds
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
ACC 646: Introduction to Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination
Milestone 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.
Analysis of Hauling Invoices and Tracing of Funds
Introduction
Milestone One planned an investigation of a contract hauler's invoices, and the evidence assignment set out how records would be preserved and tested. This milestone reports the results: the matching of invoices to delivery evidence, the quantification of loss, and the tracing of funds from the hauler using bank records counsel obtained by subpoena in the company's civil suit against the hauler (Golden et al., 2006).
Matching Results
The team matched all 9,800 loads the hauler invoiced from April 2022 to March 2025 to scale tickets by date, truck number and weight, and to batch plant receipts by date and delivery sheet number.
Matching results, April 2022 to March 2025
| Category | Loads | Amount billed |
|---|---|---|
| Scale ticket and plant receipt both present | 7,600 | $4,560,000 |
| Plant receipt present, no scale ticket | 370 | $222,000 |
| Neither scale ticket nor plant receipt | 1,830 | $1,098,000 |
| Total invoiced and paid | 9,800 | $5,880,000 |
These 1,830 unmatched loads form the proven overbilling. The 370 loads with a plant receipt but no scale ticket are reported as unsupported rather than lost: the scale system was down on 12 days in 2023, and receivers' signed delivery sheets for those days suggest at least some loads were real. The closure-day and capacity tests from the evidence assignment flag 512 of the 1,830 proven loads, corroborating the match.
Proven overbilling rose over time: 130 loads in the first nine months, 460 in 2023, 1,070 in 2024 and 170 in the first quarter of 2025, a pattern common in schemes that go undetected.
The Hauler's Bank Records
Counsel subpoenaed the hauler's business bank account. Over the period, the account received $5,880,000 from the company and about $1.1 million from other customers. Outflows included fuel, truck payments, wages and payroll taxes consistent with a small trucking business, and 31 payments totaling $412,000 to an LLC registered in Nevada in 2021. State filings list the superintendent's wife as the LLC's sole manager. The payments were labeled consulting fees. The team found no invoices, contracts, work products or tax filings showing consulting services by the LLC to the hauler.
Payments from the hauler to the LLC
| Year | Payments | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6 | $31,000 |
| 2023 | 11 | $110,000 |
| 2024 | 12 | $246,000 |
| 2025, first quarter | 2 | $25,000 |
| Total | 31 | $412,000 |
The payments track the growth in proven overbilling, close to 40 percent of it in each full year.
Uses of the Funds
The LLC's bank account, also subpoenaed, received only the hauler's payments. From it, $68,000 went to a Reno dealership for a pickup truck titled to the superintendent, $150,000 went to the mortgage servicer on the couple's home as a principal paydown in 2024, $96,000 was transferred to the couple's joint checking account and $81,000 was withdrawn in cash. The remaining $17,000 is still in the account, and counsel may seek to freeze it. Cash withdrawals cannot be traced further without other evidence; if counsel needs an estimate of total benefit, an expenditure analysis comparing the household's spending with its known income could be prepared and labeled as an estimate (Kranacher & Riley, 2019).
What the Evidence Shows and Does Not Show
The evidence shows that the hauler billed for 1,830 loads with no record of loading or delivery, that the superintendent approved all of those invoices, and that about $412,000 flowed from the hauler to an LLC managed by his wife and then largely to the household's benefit. It does not, by itself, establish the superintendent's knowledge of the overbilling or his intent; those may be shown by communications, admissions or other evidence, and the determination is for the trier of fact. Possible innocent explanations, such as genuine consulting by the wife's LLC, have been examined, and no evidence supports them, but they will be put to the superintendent in interview.
Control Failures the Analysis Reveals
The matching shows how the scheme could run for three years. Invoices were approved by the superintendent alone, with no match to scale tickets or plant receipts, so a load existed in the accounting system if he said it did. Accounts payable paid on his approval without asking for delivery support. The scale system allowed tickets to be entered or voided without a supervisor, and no one reviewed voids. The conflict of interest policy required disclosure of family ties to vendors, but no one checked vendor ownership against employee records. The vendor master file listed the hauler's owner but was never compared with HR's emergency contact data, which named the same person. Each failure will appear in the findings report with a recommended control.
Preparing the Interviews
The schedules will be used to prepare the remaining interviews in the order planned. Neutral witnesses, the scale operators and plant receivers, will be asked about scale outages and how delivery sheets were signed, which tests the innocent explanation for the 370 unsupported loads. The hauler's owner will be asked to explain the 1,830 loads with his own driver logs and fuel records. The superintendent will be interviewed last, with counsel present, and shown the matching results and the LLC payments one at a time, giving him the chance to offer an explanation for each before any admission is sought.
Recovery Options
The company's commercial crime insurance policy covers employee theft up to $1 million, subject to a $25,000 deductible and a requirement to file a proof of loss within a set period after discovery, so counsel should notify the insurer now. A civil claim against the hauler and the superintendent can seek the proven loss and the traced funds; the LLC's remaining balance and the pickup truck are identifiable assets. A criminal referral is a decision for the owner and counsel; restitution in a criminal case is another route to recovery. Each path relies on the same proven figure, which is why it was kept separate from estimates.
Conclusion
The proven overbilling is $1,098,000, with a further $222,000 unsupported. Funds of $412,000 are traced to the superintendent's household. The next step is the interview sequence, ending with an admission-seeking interview of the superintendent, prepared using these schedules (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2023).
References
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. (2023). Fraud examiners manual (2023 ed.). Author.
Golden, T. W., Skalak, S. L., & Clayton, M. M. (2006). A guide to forensic accounting investigation. Wiley.
Kranacher, M.-J., & Riley, R. A. (2019). Forensic accounting and fraud examination (2nd ed.). Wiley.
What the ACC 646 Module 6 instructions ask for
The second ACC 646 milestone usually asks you to analyze the evidence collected in the case investigation and quantify the results. Plan to present the analysis of documents and data, distinguish amounts proven by evidence from amounts that are unsupported or estimated, trace funds from the victim to their destination using bank and other records, and identify links to individuals. Many versions also ask about indirect methods and recovery options, such as net worth or expenditure analysis, when direct tracing is incomplete. Present schedules that a reader could verify, note the control failures the results reveal and state the limits of the analysis, because graders reward precision about the reach of the evidence and where it stops. Recovery routes such as insurance can round out the analysis.
How this ACC 646 Module 6 milestone two example is built
The milestone reports that of 9,800 loads invoiced from 2022 to 2025, 7,600 match scale tickets and plant receipts, 370 have plant receipts but no ticket and 1,830 have neither. The 1,830 loads, $1,098,000, are the proven overbilling; the 370, $222,000, are reported as unsupported. Bank records obtained by subpoena show the hauler paid $412,000 to an LLC owned by the superintendent's wife, described as consulting fees, with no evidence of consulting work. The LLC's account funded a $68,000 pickup, a $150,000 mortgage paydown and cash withdrawals. The milestone states that the evidence links payments to the household but does not by itself show the superintendent's knowledge.
Where the ACC 646 Module 6 rubric puts the points
Rubrics for the second ACC 646 milestone typically score the clarity and accuracy of the analysis, separation of proven, unsupported and estimated amounts, the funds tracing, use of indirect methods where needed, the link between evidence and individuals, statement of limits and use of sources. Top papers present verifiable schedules, reconcile totals, trace funds step by step with dates and amounts, and state precisely what remains unproven. Graders also reward consideration of innocent explanations and a view of how the loss might be recovered. Common deductions include mixing estimated and proven losses, concluding guilt, tracing funds without source documents and ignoring alternative explanations.
ACC 646 Module 6 help: the mistakes that cost points
Analysis milestones most often slip by presenting a single loss figure that mixes amounts proven by evidence with estimates, which invites challenge to the whole number. A second weak spot is overreaching in conclusions: funds reaching a spouse's company link the household to the scheme but do not by themselves prove the employee's knowledge or intent. If direct tracing stops at cash withdrawals, a net worth or expenditure analysis can estimate unexplained income, labeled as an estimate. Reconcile every schedule to its source total before writing about it; an unreconciled schedule undermines the rest of the analysis. Then write the limits paragraph before the conclusion, not after.
Get ACC 646 Module 6 written to your instructions
Send the ACC 646 Milestone Two guidelines and the case evidence. The milestone will analyze the records, quantify proven and unsupported amounts, trace funds with schedules and state the limits of what the evidence shows. Two days is the usual wait, and the first is free. 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.
More ACC 646 papers and related MS Accounting samples
- ACC 646 Module 1 Discussion: What a Forensic Accountant Does That an Auditor Does Not
- ACC 646 Module 2 Fraud Tree Assignment: Sorting the Schemes a Tip Uncovered
- ACC 646 Module 3 Milestone One: Predication and a Plan for the Hauling Vendor
- ACC 646 Module 4 Discussion: Why a Trusted Superintendent Would Steal
- ACC 646 Module 5 Evidence Assignment: Gathering, Preserving and Testing the Records
- ACC 646 Module 7 Discussion: The Admission-Seeking Interview
- ACC 646 Module 8 Damages Assignment: Lost Profits From a Failed Cement Supply
- ACC 645 Module 2 SOC Report Assignment: A SOC 1 Type 2 Report on the Payroll Platform
- ACC 620 Module 10 Final Project: Long-Term Obligations and Equity Report
- ACC 640 Module 9 Milestone Three: Completing the Audit
- ACC 610 Module 9 Milestone Three: The Statement of Cash Flows and Key Disclosures
ACC 646 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 646 Module 6 Milestone Two sample?
This page includes a full ACC 646 Milestone Two matching hauling invoices to delivery records and tracing funds to an employee's household.
What is the difference between proven and unsupported amounts?
Proven amounts are established by evidence, such as invoices with no matching delivery record; unsupported amounts lack documentation but have some evidence of legitimacy and are reported separately.
How do forensic accountants trace funds?
By following payments through bank records, wire and check details and account statements from the source to their destination, documenting each step with dates and amounts.
What is the net worth method?
An indirect method that estimates unexplained income by comparing changes in a person's net worth plus living expenses with known income sources.
Does tracing funds to an employee prove fraud?
No. It establishes a link, but knowledge and intent must be shown by other evidence, such as communications, approvals or admissions, and the determination is for the trier of fact.