‘We’re the CSI of Accounting”

College students get to do the coolest things – and yes, that includes those studying accounting.

Lakeland College accounting students in Sheboygan, Wis. got some hands-on experience
when they teamed up with IRS special agents during a mock investigation of a man they believed had been recruiting others to file false W-2 forms.

"We're the CSI of accounting," said Julie Ricchio, one of the agents.

The exercise, which was written about at sheboyganpress.com, involved 20 Lakeland accounting students and 16 IRS special agents from Milwaukee. Though it was a mock exercise, students were sworn in as temporary special agents and were given a rubber pistol, radio, handcuffs and a badge. They were divided into five teams, assigned a scenario and began to collect evidence, interview witnesses, obtain search warrants from judges and make arrests.

Pretty cool, huh?

It turns out this is the second year Lakeland College was chosen as part of this Adrian Project exercise  - because the school’s accounting program graduates 150 to 180 accounting students every year, making it the state’s largest.

And it’s the only accounting program in the state with a forensic emphasis.

To read more of the story go here.