IRS agents open new field for accounting majors

Dave Vidlund never thought he would need handcuffs as an accounting major.

But as a simulated drug deal began in Grawn Hall Friday, the Commerce senior was there to make the arrest.

Vidlund is one of 50 students enrolled in accounting professor Thomas Weirich’s ACC 536: Forensic Accounting class that participated in the Adrian Project — a nationwide program designed to educate accounting majors on the IRS criminal investigation division.

“It’s awesome — you get real hands-on experience,” Vidlund said. “I like how interactive it is.”

Students were broken into 10 groups, each with their own case to investigate and solve.

Twenty-three IRS criminal investigation division agents, many of them former Central Michigan University students, lead the students and role-played in different scenarios.

Eight investigations were occurring, ranging in topics from drug busts and tax evasion to undercover operations and false tax returns.

Stephen Moore, public information officer for IRS Criminal Investigation in Detroit, has been coming to CMU for seven years.

“Our approach is to educate students on career opportunities,” he said. “We get to show them our job and, hopefully, get them interested.”

The IRS criminal investigation division looks to hire accounting majors, not criminal justice majors, Moore said. He said this is a career option not many students know about and one he always looks forward to revealing.

Weirich has included the Adrian Project in his curriculum for the last seven years. The program has seen more than 2,000 students in 28 states, Moore said.

“It gives students a hands-on, real-world experience based on real-life scenarios,” Weirich said. “It opens another field for them.”

While Vidlund may not have busted a real drug deal, it is a field he may consider in the future.

“I wouldn’t have even thought about it without a program like this,” Vidlund said.