| Course | ACC 692 Interview Techniques/Legal Aspects of Fraud |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | graduate milestone presenting a complete fraud examination interview plan |
| Length | About 1,040 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 692 Module 3
Interview Plan for the Fuel and Tire Examination
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
ACC 692: Interview Techniques/Legal Aspects of Fraud
Milestone One
[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 Plan for the Fuel and Tire Examination
Introduction
The Module Two plan set an order for nine interviews in the examination of diesel and tire losses at the county highway department. Six of those interviews are now complete. This milestone summarizes what they established, revises the remaining sequence, and provides detailed plans for the two hardest conversations: the owner of an excavating company believed to have bought the fuel and tires, and the fleet supervisor whose override code appears on the suspicious entries. It closes with the legal checks that govern each step.
What the Early Interviews Established
Completed interviews and findings
| Interviewee | Key facts established | Effect on plan |
|---|---|---|
| Telemetry technician | Readings accurate within half a percent; no sensor faults logged | Removes the faulty-meter explanation |
| Fleet records analyst | Night fills require a supervisor override code at the pump controller | Narrows access to three people |
| Fuel desk clerk | The supervisor's code was used on 118 of 131 suspicious fills; she was told the trucks were topped off for the morning | Points to the subject |
| Mechanic one | Plow trucks parked with full tanks were refueled overnight; he saw a contractor's tanker in the yard twice | Identifies the buyer and adds a witness |
| Tire hauler | Roughly a third of tires collected in 2023 and 2024 had usable tread; he was paid by weight | Supports the tire diversion |
| Department director | Signed fuel and tire reports monthly without reviewing detail | Supervision failure, not involvement |
The interviews followed the free-report approach throughout: each witness first described the routine in their own words before any record was shown, which Memon et al. (2010) associate with more complete and accurate recall. Two facts changed the plan. Mechanic one placed a tanker belonging to a local excavating company in the yard at night, and the tire hauler's account suggested that a former parts clerk, who retired in 2024, prepared the tire stock cards.
Revised Sequence
Two interviews are added, and one is moved. The second mechanic, originally scheduled alongside the first, will be asked specifically about nights when the tanker was present. The former parts clerk will be interviewed at home, by appointment, about who instructed her to record tires as scrap. The order for the remaining interviews is now the second mechanic, the former parts clerk, the excavating company owner and the fleet supervisor, with the subject interview no earlier than five working days after the contractor's, to allow the contractor's account to be checked.
Approach to the Excavating Contractor
Because the contractor may have knowingly bought stolen fuel, approaching him is no longer purely an examination matter. The controller's office has briefed the district attorney, who asked that county detectives be present and that the interview be voluntary and outside custody. The objectives are to learn how the contractor came to buy diesel and tires from the supervisor, what he paid and how, what documents exist and whether he understood the goods belonged to the county. The approach will be nonaccusatory: the examiner will explain that the county is reviewing fuel and tire records and that his company's tanker was seen at the yard. If the contractor asks whether he needs a lawyer, the examiner will say he is free to consult one and end the interview if he chooses to.
Plan for the Fleet Supervisor
The supervisor is a nonunion managerial employee, so no representation right applies, but as a public employee he is protected against compelled self-incrimination. On the district attorney's advice, the interview will be voluntary: he will be told he is free to leave and that no discipline will follow a refusal to answer. This preserves the use of his statements in any later prosecution. It will take place in a county conference room, be recorded with his consent and be led by the examiner, with a county detective taking notes.
Phase one gathers his account. He will be asked to describe how fuel is ordered, dispensed and recorded, who uses override codes and why, how tires are tracked from purchase to scrap and what relationship the department has with outside contractors. No evidence will be shown. Hartwig et al. (2006) found that withholding evidence until the interviewee has committed to an account made inconsistencies far easier to see.
Phase two introduces evidence in increasing order of significance.
Order of evidence for the subject interview
| Step | Evidence | Question that follows |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telemetry shows fuel leaving tanks without matching fills | How can that happen? |
| 2 | 131 night fills for trucks not dispatched | What were these fills for? |
| 3 | His override code on 118 of them | Who else could use your code? |
| 4 | Usable tires recorded as scrap on cards he approved | How were these tires classified? |
| 5 | Contractor's tanker in the yard at night, and the contractor's account | What was the contractor doing there? |
At each step he will be invited to explain before the next item is shown. The examiner will not argue with an explanation or point out its weaknesses in the moment; the aim is to record each account fully, because an explanation that fits step two may not fit step four, and the gap is more persuasive in a transcript than any challenge would be. Because the meta-analysis by Meissner et al. (2014) favors rapport and open questioning over confrontation on both counts that matter, more genuine admissions and fewer invented ones, the plan leaves out minimizing the offense and any bluff about evidence the county does not hold.
Stopping Rules and Legal Checks
The interview will end if he asks for a lawyer, asks to leave or shows signs of distress that make continuing unfair. If he makes a partial admission, the examiner will ask him to describe the scheme in his own words and will offer him the chance to write a statement. Any decision to compel an administrative interview, which would make his answers unusable in a criminal case, waits until the prosecutor has made a charging call.
Conclusion
Six interviews have confirmed the loss, narrowed access to the supervisor's code and identified a likely buyer. The revised plan adds two witnesses, coordinates the contractor interview with the district attorney and saves the supervisor for last, with a phased approach that gathers his account before presenting evidence. Milestone Two will examine the rights and evidence rules behind these choices.
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
Meissner, C. A., Redlich, A. D., Michael, S. W., Evans, J. R., Camilletti, C. R., Bhatt, S., & Brandon, S. (2014). Accusatorial and information-gathering interrogation methods and their effects on true and false confessions: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(4), 459-486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-014-9207-6
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 3 instructions ask for
Milestone One in ACC 692 asks for a written plan for the interviewing phase of your case, and everything you submit afterward leans on it. Guidelines commonly require the list of interviewees and their order, the purpose of each interview, the documents and evidence to be used, the approach and question strategy for key interviews, the roles of each participant and the legal or ethical considerations. Many versions expect a detailed plan for interviewing the suspect, including when and how evidence will be introduced. The best plans show that they respond to what earlier interviews revealed, so the sequence reads as an investigation that is learning rather than a fixed script.
How this ACC 692 Module 3 milestone one example is built
The paper opens with a table of six completed interviews and what each established: the telemetry technician confirmed the readings were accurate, the clerk identified the supervisor's override code on night fills, a mechanic said plow trucks were refueled on nights they never left the yard, and the tire hauler said many collected tires still had tread. It then revises the plan, adding a second mechanic and the department's former parts clerk. The approach to the excavating contractor is coordinated with the district attorney, and the subject interview is planned in two parts: an open account of fuel and tire procedures, then evidence introduced item by item, with recording, roles and a stopping rule.
Where the ACC 692 Module 3 rubric puts the points
The Milestone One rubric typically awards points for a complete and logical interview sequence, clear objectives tied to evidence, a detailed plan for key interviews, appropriate question strategy, attention to legal and ethical issues, and organization. Strong plans show how each completed interview changed the next, set out the subject interview in phases with the evidence to be disclosed at each, and specify who does what in the room. They also consider when the investigation should involve law enforcement. Plans lose credit for scripting an accusatory confrontation from the first minute, for ignoring the rights of public or union employees, and for objectives that cannot be checked against the outcome.
ACC 692 Module 3 help: the mistakes that cost points
Weak milestones present the same list they would have written before any interview took place. Show the plan learning: what did the early witnesses say, and how does that change whom you talk to next and what you ask? For the subject interview, plan the order in which evidence will be revealed and why, rather than writing a single list of questions. Decide in advance what you will do if the subject asks for a lawyer, refuses to continue or offers a partial admission. Make sure the plan says when the case should be referred to a prosecutor, since that decision affects how later interviews may be used.
Get ACC 692 Module 3 written to your instructions
Send the ACC 692 Milestone One guidelines and what your case file says so far. The paper will summarize early interviews, revise the sequence, plan the hardest conversations step by step and flag each legal check. Expect it in about two days; a first milestone is written 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 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 692 Module 3 Milestone One sample?
This page offers the complete ACC 692 Milestone One interview plan for a fuel and tire examination at a county highway department.
What goes into a fraud examination interview plan?
The interviewees and their order, each interview's purpose, the evidence to be used, the approach and questions for key interviews, participants' roles and the legal and ethical considerations.
How should evidence be introduced in a subject interview?
Gradually and after the subject has given an account, starting with the least significant items, so that inconsistencies emerge and the subject cannot tailor the story to what the examiner knows.
When should law enforcement be involved in a fraud examination?
Usually once evidence suggests a crime and before steps that could compromise a prosecution, such as compelled interviews of public employees or contact with possible accomplices.
Should a fraud interview be recorded?
Many examiners record interviews where law and policy allow it, because a recording protects both sides; if not recorded, a second person takes detailed notes.