Certified Inspector General Investigator® Curriculum

Course Level

This Institute program is at the overview level and assumes knowledge of investigatory skills.

Areas of Instruction — Core Competencies

The Association has identified seven broad areas of core competency for inspectors general investigators. The Institute program’s five-day curriculum covers the following seven core competency areas:

  • The investigative process
  • Professional standards for conducting investigations
  • Ethics in investigations
  • Legal issues
  • Procurement fraud and computer crime
  • Investigative techniques
  • Working with auditors

Course Learning Objectives and Program Content

Quality Standards for Investigations

  • Knowledge and understanding the need for standards
  • The importance of standards for investigations
  • Knowledge and understanding the specific standards for investigations

Legal Issues in IG Investigations

  • The legal distinction between administrative and criminal investigations
  • The legal issues confronted by investigators
  • Criminal versus administrative interviews
  • Presenting cases to prosecutors and testimony in court

Interviewing Techniques

  • Numerically quantifying a forensic interview to accurately predict truth or deception
  • Understanding how to classify nonverbal behaviors indicative of truth and deception
  • How truthful and deceptive suspects will differ in verbally answering specific questions
  • How and why truthful and deceptive suspects will differ in their written behaviors

Report Writing

  • Organizing and maintaining statements for investigative reports
  • When to take statements and the type of required statements
  • Preparation of proper case syllabus

Financial Fraud Investigations

  • Indicators of potential fraud
  • Critical processes for uncovering and investigating financial fraud
  • Lack of internal controls in organizations

Computer, Forensic & Computer Data Analysis

  • Understanding computer forensics support in the investigative process
  • Protocols and procedures for handling and processing of computer evidence
  • Identification of patterns of fraud, waste and abuse

Contract Procurement Fraud

  • Recognition of procurement/contract fraud schemes
  • Investigative steps required in investigations
  • Available criminal, civil and administrative remedies

Employee Misconduct Investigations

  • Examples of misconduct in public agencies.
  • Identification of potential sources of information in misconduct.
  • Avoiding investigative difficulties in misconduct.
  • Case notification tactics.

Multi-Jurisdictional Investigations

  • Importance of coordination and communication among federal, state and local authorities in IG investigations
  • Presentment of significant multi-jurisdictional IG investigations

Coordination and Cooperation between Auditors and Investigators

  • Coordination and communication between investigative and audit personnel
  • Agency-specific responsibility and functions
  • Joint projects between investigators and auditors

Ethics and IG Investigations

  • Nature and role of ethics laws and standards
  • The nexus between IG investigations and ethical issues.
  • Ethics as second nature