Covers demand for forensic accounting experts in Texas, expert testimony rules, and Binnion v. State. Also covers COSO segregation of duties

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the growing demand for forensic accounting expert witnesses in Texas

2. Identify the key evidence rules & standards for expert testimony

3. Apply Texas Penal Code definitions of “owner” and “possession” using Binnion v. State

4. Evaluate how COSO segregation of duties can strengthen the prosecution or defense strategy

5. How Texas A&M University at San Antonio’s proposed forensic accounting program is based on the AICPA’s Global CFF Examination Content Specification Outline

No prerequisites necessary.

Speaker:  Gilbert C. Barrera Jr., JD, CPA, MPA, Clinical Associate Professor, Texas A&M at San Antonio

Where:  AACOG, 2700 NE Loop 410 (at Perrin Beitel), San Antonio, TX 78217, 1st Floor Board Room

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Gilbert C. Barrera Jr.

Clinical Associate Professor

Texas A&M at San Antonio

Gilbert C. Barrera, Jr., JD, CPA, MPA, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, where he has taught for 13 years. He has been a CPA since 1982 and an attorney since 1988.

Education

• BA in English and JD from St. Mary’s University
• BBA in Accounting and MPA (Federal Tax) from UTSA

Legal career

• 2 years as an Assistant Attorney General of Texas in the Tax Division
• 22 years as a prosecutor in Travis and Bexar Counties, serving as lead prosecutor in about 100 jury trials
• Prosecuted politically sensitive cases, including State Senator Drew Nixon, who in 1995 became the first statewide official in Texas history jailed while still in office
• Two of his appellate cases, Webber v. State and First State Bank of Dumas v. Sharp, were designated mandatory precedent. They have since been cited by the Texas Supreme Court, many appellate courts, and law reviews at Yale and Stanford.

Forensic accounting work

• Has testified as a forensic accountant in state and federal court and investigated corporate and bankruptcy fraud
• Since 2018, he and his students have done forensic accounting analyses on active cases for the San Antonio Police Department’s White Collar Crime Unit

Awards

• 2018 Texas Society of CPAs Outstanding Accounting Educator Award
• 2021 Texas A&M-San Antonio Mays Center Award for his work with interns at the San Antonio Police Department
• 2025 Outstanding Mentor Medal from the Accounting and Finance Department

Contact: gbarrera@tamusa.edu