| Course | ACC 692 Interview Techniques/Legal Aspects of Fraud |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | graduate discussion post on admission-seeking interviews and false confession risk |
| Length | About 420 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 692 Module 4
Module Four Discussion
The Silence After Step Three
Picture the interview at step three of our plan. The fleet supervisor has described the fueling procedure confidently, explained that night fills are sometimes needed before storms and been shown the telemetry. Now the examiner places the list of 118 night fills, each with his override code, on the table. He reads it and says nothing for almost a minute. The second interviewer looks at the examiner, and the examiner has to decide what to say first.
An accusatorial approach, common in American interrogation training, would fill that silence with confidence: we know these were your fills, and we understand why; the county has not given your crew a raise in three years. That is a rationalization, offered to make the admission easier. It also gives away the order of our evidence, which Hartwig et al. (2006) found is exactly what lets a guilty interviewee adjust his story. It often works. The trouble is that it works on the innocent too. Kassin et al. (2010) identify minimization, along with false evidence ploys and long isolation, as tactics that raise the risk of false confessions, especially for people who are tired, anxious or eager to end the conversation.
An information-gathering approach would wait, then ask him to explain the entries, one at a time if needed, and test each explanation against the dispatch records. Meissner et al. (2014) pooled experimental and field studies and found that information-gathering methods produced more true confessions and fewer false ones than accusatorial methods. In a fraud case, the documents already carry most of the proof, so the main value of the interview is accurate detail: how the fuel left the yard, how payment was made, who else knew. An admission extracted by suggestion contains little of that, and a defense lawyer will attack it.
There is a legal reason for restraint as well. He is a public employee in a voluntary interview, and anything that sounds like a promise, such as suggesting the county will go easy if he explains, could make whatever he says next look induced. I would also argue the examiner is in a different position from police. A finding that the supervisor misused his code does not depend on his admitting it; his silence, set beside 118 entries, is itself something the report can describe accurately.
For classmates: is mentioning the three years without a raise a fair way to show understanding, or does it become a promise of sympathy the county cannot keep? Where would you draw the line?
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
Kassin, S. M., Drizin, S. A., Grisso, T., Gudjonsson, G. H., Leo, R. A., & Redlich, A. D. (2010). Police-induced confessions: Risk factors and recommendations. Law and Human Behavior, 34(1), 3-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-009-9188-6
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
What the ACC 692 Module 4 instructions ask for
In Module Four, ACC 692 usually turns to admission-seeking interviews: what they are, when they are appropriate and how far an examiner may go. Prompts may ask you to describe the steps of an admission-seeking interview, compare accusatory and information-gathering models, discuss the risk of false confessions or explain which tactics could make an admission inadmissible or unreliable. A strong post grounds the discussion in a specific moment, such as a subject's silence after being shown evidence, and explains what the examiner should say next and why. Research on interrogation methods and false confessions is essential here, and replies should test classmates' suggested tactics against it.
How this ACC 692 Module 4 discussion example is built
The post freezes the subject interview at the moment the fleet supervisor sees his override code on 118 night fills and falls silent. It describes what an accusatory approach would do next, such as stating confidence in his guilt and offering a face-saving reason like the department's low pay, and what an information-gathering approach would do: ask him to explain the entries and keep testing his account against the evidence. It summarizes a meta-analysis finding that information-gathering methods produced more true and fewer false confessions, and a review of confession risk factors. It argues that a confession worth having is one he would repeat to a judge, and asks classmates whether offering a rationalization crosses a line.
Where the ACC 692 Module 4 rubric puts the points
Grading for this discussion usually considers understanding of admission-seeking methods, analysis of risks such as false confessions and coercion, application to a scenario, use of research, and replies. Higher marks go to posts that weigh the effectiveness of tactics against their reliability, explain the legal consequences of coercion or false promises, and distinguish an examiner's position from that of police. Posts that endorse any tactic that produces a confession, or that reject admission-seeking entirely without explaining how cases are proved, earn less. A post that names the exact sentence an examiner would say next, and defends it, usually stands out. Replies gain credit when they identify a specific tactic in a classmate's post and explain its risk.
ACC 692 Module 4 help: the mistakes that cost points
Posts on this topic often describe the steps of an admission-seeking interview from a manual without asking whether each step is wise. Pick one or two tactics, such as offering a rationalization or presenting the evidence as stronger than it is, and examine their effects using research. Another weakness is forgetting the legal setting: a public employee's statement compelled under threat of discipline may be unusable, and a promise of leniency can taint an admission. Finally, remember that the examiner's goal is accurate information that will hold up, which sometimes means accepting silence and relying on the documents. Silence can be written into the report as a fact; a confession later ruled involuntary cannot be used at all.
Get ACC 692 Module 4 written to your instructions
Send the ACC 692 Module 4 prompt. You will receive a post that compares admission-seeking methods through one tense moment in a case, uses the research on confessions honestly and gives classmates a hard call to make. About two days is usual; a first post 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 4 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 692 Module 4 Discussion sample?
The full ACC 692 Module 4 post is on this page, set at the moment a fleet supervisor is shown his override code on 118 night fuel fills.
What is an admission-seeking interview?
An interview conducted when the examiner is reasonably confident of a person's involvement, aimed at obtaining an admission and details of the scheme, usually after other evidence has been gathered.
What is the difference between accusatorial and information-gathering interviews?
Accusatorial methods confront the subject with presumed guilt and seek a confession, while information-gathering methods build rapport, ask open questions and test the account against evidence.
Why are false confessions a concern in fraud examinations?
Because pressure, false evidence ploys and implied promises can lead innocent or vulnerable people to admit things they did not do, which harms them and destroys the case.
Can an examiner offer a rationalization during an interview?
Many manuals suggest offering a face-saving reason for the conduct, but research links minimization to false confessions, so it should be used with care and never with promises.