A UK first for the University of Teesside and Inverita

The University of Teesside teamed up with Capita Investigation Services, part of Capita PLC, last year to offer a new part-time course in Corporate Fraud Investigation.  The one-year University certificate, entitled Corporate Fraud Investigator, is the only one of its kind in the private sector. It is designed for fraud investigators working in a commercial or corporate environment who wish to increase their knowledge and expertise and gain a recognised professional qualification relevant to their field.

Les Dobie is pictured with Mike Ashwell After an amalgamation with two other business units, Capita Investigation Services is now known as Inverita and their first cohort of staff have recently graduated from the course, the first in the UK to do so. By achieving this certificate, the group of six has also attained the status of Accredited Counter-Fraud Specialist from the Government recognised Counter-Fraud Professional Accreditation Board, of which Inverita is a member.

This status will enable them to work as a fraud investigator in the private investigator sector, the public sector and the regulated financial services sector. The course also provides a progression route to higher level fraud and economic crime management courses at the University.

Inspiration for the course came from Les Dobie, Head of Training & Development for Inverita, who supply end-to-end fraud management services to the commercial and public sectors. Les is pictured with Mike Ashwell, Senior lecturer in Accounting at the University of Teesside.

Les is responsible for the training & development needs of all Inverita staff as well as the design and delivery of the certificate course. He enrolled on the University’s MA Fraud Management programme to increase his own professional knowledge and transfer it to the workplace.

Les said: “I have greatly increased my overall fraud knowledge as I have progressed through the MA programme. As a consequence, I have been able to develop with the University an in depth, ethically based Fraud Investigator course relevant to those undertaking front-line fraud investigations. The certificate is unique to the commercial and financial services sectors and has won two top industry awards.

“In addition, the course is being recognised by Inverita’s existing and potential customers as market leading and has resulted in the establishment of additional cohorts comprising non-Capita students, thereby opening up a new revenue stream for the company as well as spreading professionalism and best practice in the counter-fraud industry.”

The year-long course is made up of two modules:

• Corporate Fraud Investigations
• Corporate Fraud Investigation Management

The course is a mixture of classroom and distance learning. For more details call 01642 342843, e-mail tbspg@tees.ac.uk, or check the University’s web site at www.tees.ac.uk

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