| Course | ACC 692 Interview Techniques/Legal Aspects of Fraud |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | graduate assignment sequencing witnesses and planning a fraud interview |
| Length | About 1,100 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 692 Module 2
Interview Sequence and Plan, Highway Department Fuel and Tire Losses
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
ACC 692: Interview Techniques/Legal Aspects of Fraud
Module Two Assignment
[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.
Interview Sequence and Plan, Highway Department Fuel and Tire Losses
Introduction
The county controller's office has engaged a forensic accountant to examine losses of diesel fuel and truck tires at the highway department's main yard between late 2022 and early 2025. Telemetry and invoice analysis suggest about 41,000 gallons of diesel and 380 tires are unaccounted for, worth about $258,000 together. No one in the department has yet been told of the examination. This paper identifies who should be interviewed, sets the order and explains it, lists the records to obtain beforehand and provides a detailed plan for the first key interview.
Records to Gather First
Interviews will be planned around five sets of records: the tank telemetry readings since installation, the fuel dispensing log with the truck number and signature for each fill, the storm dispatch records showing which plow trucks were out on which nights, tire purchase invoices and stock cards, and scrap tickets from the licensed tire hauler. Comparing the dispensing log with the dispatch records will show fills recorded for trucks that were not working, and comparing tire purchases with installed tires and scrap tickets will show how many tires left the yard without a record. Kranacher and Riley (2019) emphasize completing this kind of document work first, since it determines what each interview must accomplish.
The comparison has already produced a working list. Of 214 dispensing entries made between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. over three winters, 131 were for plow trucks that the dispatch records show were not called out that night. Of the 380 missing tires, 290 were the 11R22.5 drive tires used on the department's heavy trucks, which carry resale value, while scrap tickets show the hauler collecting about the same tonnage each year. These figures give the interviews concrete entries to ask about rather than general questions about fuel.
Who Knows What
Potential interviewees and their likely knowledge
| Group | Person | Likely knowledge | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral third parties | Telemetry vendor technician | How readings are produced and their accuracy | Low |
| Neutral third parties | County fleet records analyst | How fills and tires are recorded and reconciled | Low |
| Corroborating witnesses | Fuel desk clerk | Who signs for fills, unusual practices, night access | May fear blame; union member |
| Corroborating witnesses | Two senior mechanics | Real fuel use of plow trucks, tire changes | Loyalty to supervisor |
| Corroborating witnesses | Tire hauler | Volumes collected, whether tires were usable | Commercial relationship |
| Possible co-conspirator | Owner of an excavating company | Whether he bought fuel or tires from the supervisor | May warn subject; may need counsel |
| Others | Department director | Supervision, approvals, prior complaints | Possible negligence |
| Subject | Fleet supervisor | Explanations for entries and access | Highest |
The Order and Why
Interviews will move from the outside in. The telemetry technician goes first, so the examiner can explain the readings with confidence and anticipate any claim that the system is faulty. The fleet records analyst follows, confirming how the log and stock cards are kept. The fuel desk clerk comes next, because she handles the dispensing log daily and can identify who signs for the suspicious fills. The two mechanics and the tire hauler follow, ideally on the same day to reduce the chance they discuss the questions. The excavating company owner comes after the corroborating witnesses, when the examiner knows what to ask him and can judge whether he is a buyer, an innocent customer or an accomplice. The department director is interviewed before the subject, both for supervision facts and to plan administrative steps. The fleet supervisor is last, and his interview will be scheduled only after the other eight are written up and compared, so that any gap between his account and theirs is visible. Hartwig et al. (2006) showed that interviewers who hold their evidence back until the subject has given an account detect deception better, which is only possible if the evidence has been gathered first.
Detailed Plan: The Fuel Desk Clerk
Objectives: establish how fills are recorded and signed, whether night or weekend fills occur without the clerk present, who has keys to the pump controller and whether the clerk has noticed fills for trucks that were in the shop or not dispatched. Setting: a conference room at the county administration building, away from the yard, scheduled at the start of a shift. Participants: the lead examiner asks questions and a second examiner from the controller's office takes notes. Because the clerk belongs to the bargaining unit, she will be told that a steward may sit in should she fear the conversation could end in discipline for her, and the plan assumes one attends. Approach: nonaccusatory, explaining that the county is reviewing fuel controls after installing telemetry.
Question sequence for the fuel desk clerk
| Stage | Example question | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory | Can you walk me through a normal morning at the fuel desk? | Rapport and baseline |
| Informational | How does a driver get fuel when you are not on shift? | Access outside hours |
| Informational | Who keeps the pump controller keys? | Opportunity |
| Informational | This page shows fills for Truck 14 on three nights in January. What can you tell me about how those were recorded? | Specific entries |
| Assessment | Has anyone ever asked you to enter a fill you did not see? | Pressure on staff |
| Closing | Is there anything else about the fuel records we should know, or anyone else we should speak with? | Further leads |
Questions will be open-ended at first, following the free-report approach associated with the cognitive interview (Memon et al., 2010), with specific records introduced only after the clerk has described the process in her own words.
Risks and Safeguards
The main risk is that word reaches the fleet supervisor before his interview. To limit this, interviews of the clerk, mechanics and hauler will be completed within two days, each witness will be asked not to discuss the conversation, and the excavating company owner will be approached only after the controller's office has consulted the district attorney about whether to involve law enforcement. A second risk is that the clerk feels accused; the introduction and the presence of her representative are meant to reduce that. A third is that the mechanics, out of loyalty to a supervisor who has run the shop for eleven years, give guarded answers. The examiner will ask them mostly about trucks and fuel consumption, subjects they know well and can discuss without feeling they are informing on anyone, and will save any question about the supervisor's habits for the end of each conversation.
Conclusion
The plan gathers the records first, interviews nine people from the outside in and saves the fleet supervisor for last. The fuel desk clerk's interview sets the direction for the rest, and its questions are tied to specific entries in the dispensing log.
References
Hartwig, M., Granhag, P. A., Strömwall, L. A., & Kronkvist, O. (2006). Strategic use of evidence during police interviews: When training to detect deception works. Law and Human Behavior, 30(5), 603-619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-006-9053-9
Kranacher, M.-J., & Riley, R. A. (2019). Forensic accounting and fraud examination (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Memon, A., Meissner, C. A., & Fraser, J. (2010). The cognitive interview: A meta-analytic review and study space analysis of the past 25 years. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16(4), 340-372. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020518
What the ACC 692 Module 2 instructions ask for
The Module Two assignment in ACC 692 asks you to plan the interviewing phase of an examination. Typical requirements include identifying the people to interview, putting them in a defensible order, listing the documents to review beforehand and preparing a detailed plan for at least one interview: its objectives, location, participants, approach and questions. Some versions ask you to anticipate problems, such as an uncooperative witness or the risk that the subject learns of the investigation. Graders expect the order to follow the principle of moving from the outside in, from people with no involvement toward the suspect, and they look for questions that tie to specific documents or facts.
How this ACC 692 Module 2 interview planning assignment example is built
The paper begins with the records to gather before any conversation: telemetry readings, the dispensing log, storm dispatch records, tire invoices and scrap tickets. It sorts nine people into four groups and orders them: the telemetry vendor's technician and the county's fleet records analyst first, then the fuel desk clerk, two mechanics and the tire hauler, then the owner of an excavating company that may have bought the fuel, and the fleet supervisor last. The plan for the clerk sets objectives, chooses a county conference room away from the yard, adds a note-taker, offers union representation and lists questions keyed to the dispensing log. A table shows what each interview should establish.
Where the ACC 692 Module 2 rubric puts the points
Scoring for the planning assignment usually covers the identification of witnesses, the logic of the interview order, document preparation, the detailed interview plan, anticipation of risks and legal considerations, and writing. Strong papers explain each person's likely knowledge and possible bias, justify the order by what each interview will add before the next, and write questions that are open-ended and anchored to records. They also consider practical matters such as location, a second interviewer and representation rights. Papers lose points for interviewing the suspect early, for lists of closed or leading questions, for ignoring confidentiality and for plans that do not state what each interview is meant to establish.
ACC 692 Module 2 help: the mistakes that cost points
The most frequent problem in interview plans is a list of questions with no stated purpose. Begin each plan with two or three objectives, written as facts to establish, and make every question serve one. Another issue is the order: students sometimes start with the person they suspect most, which alerts them and wastes the chance to test their story against what others have said. Think about where word will travel; in a small workplace, interviews that are close in time limit the chance that witnesses compare notes. Finally, consider the setting and who will be present, because those choices affect both candor and the later use of the interview.
Get ACC 692 Module 2 written to your instructions
Send the ACC 692 Module 2 assignment and the case facts. You get an ordered witness list with reasons, a records checklist and a full plan for one key interview, with setting, roles, rights and questions. Usually about two days; the first plan 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.
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ACC 692 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 692 Module 2 Interview Planning sample?
This page carries a complete ACC 692 Module 2 interview plan for diesel and tire losses at a county highway department, including the witness order.
In what order should witnesses be interviewed in a fraud examination?
Generally from the outside in: neutral third parties and record keepers first, then corroborating witnesses, then possible co-conspirators, and the suspect last.
What should an interview plan include?
Objectives, the documents reviewed, location and timing, who will attend and in what role, the approach, the questions in sequence and the risks to manage.
Should a second person attend a fraud interview?
Usually yes. One person asks while the other writes, and having two county staff in the room protects both the witness and the examiner if anyone later disputes the conversation.
Why plan questions around documents?
Because questions tied to specific records produce precise answers, reveal inconsistencies and show the witness that the examiner understands the facts.