Forensic Analytics, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 16Using Microsoft Access and R For Analytics

CHAPTER 1 DISCUSSED THE USE of analytics to detect fraud and the relevant useful analytics-related components and features of Excel. The discussions in the first 10 chapters relating to the preparation and analysis of data included instructions and screenshots showing how to run the analytics tests in Excel, Access, and occasionally IDEA and SAS. Chapter 11 showed how to run time-series tests in Minitab, IDEA, and SAS. Another valuable and dependable tool for data analysis is R (https://www.r-project.org/). The reporting and presentation of the results of a forensic analytics project are usually done using Word and PowerPoint. These results could include images cropped from the Access results or the Excel worksheets. Images can be copied and pasted into Word or PowerPoint by using the Snipping Tool included with the Windows 10 Accessories, or by using a specialized app such as Snag-It.

This chapter has two goals. First, the chapter will act as a refresher course on the useful components and features of Access for users that are a bit rusty or are even completely new to Access. In summary, Access has almost everything that is needed for a forensic analytics application with not-too-large data sets. Forensic-related applications can be created in Access, and users with little or no knowledge of Access could query the system. Second, the chapter will do the same for R, which is a programming language that is widely used by ...