The Monday evening class is designed to provide senior accounting students with the investigative and technical skills to deal with the legal aspects of accounting.

The class is being taught by Paul White, Barbara Luna and Alfred Warsavsky, three senior partners from the firm of White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna, Wolf and Hunt, LLP., located in Sherman Oaks, California.

“I just hope that students learn forensic accounting. It is the fastest growing area of accounting, said White. “It teaches students how to think and gives accounting a more human element.”

Forensic accounting is a specialty area of accounting that deals with real or anticipated litigation. Forensic accountants typically deal with economic damages, family law, fraud and other economic crimes (i.e. fraud), and business valuations. A 2002 U.S. News and World Report article named forensic accounting one of the eight most secure careers.

“This field is a hybrid of law and accounting. Because this is a relatively new field, we have a massive influx of need in this area. Until now, there were relatively no tools or training in forensic accounting,” said Jason Beeber, certified public accountant from the firm.

Cal State Northridge is one of only a handful of universities offering a class of this type.

“Students are receiving training in an area, forensic accounting, that few universities have any classes in. Many jobs exist in this field, but many students don't have an understanding of what the jobs entail. This course teaches both the theory and the practice of forensic accounting,” said Jan Bell, chair for CSUN's Department of Accounting and Information Systems.

More than $2000 in books has been donated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for the class