Josh Fisher drew a blue imitation Glock handgun from the holster on his hip and banged on a door on the seventh floor of Alter Hall.

“Federal agents with a search warrant. Open the door,” he shouted twice before he and two other handgun-wielding students burst into the room.

A freshman accounting major, Fisher and his classmates were among 24 accounting majors participating in an Oct. 29 exercise as part the “Fox Project,” a daylong simulation of an Internal Revenue Service investigation and prosecution. Led by 19 local IRS special agents, the students acted as IRS Criminal Investigation special agents pursuing a terrorism financing case. The students were broken into four groups, each investigating a separate entity involved in the case. Teams met between interviews and fieldwork to present their findings.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this,” said IRS Special Agent Shauna Frye, a Fox School alumna who organized the project. “Temple has a great population and a really diverse set of students.”

Frye said the IRS special agent simulation is a mix of law enforcement and accounting that gives students the chance to learn about a career they may not have originally considered.

Megan Panaccio, associate director of corporate relations at the Fox School’s Center for Student Professional Development, began coordinating the Fox Project with Frye late last semester.

“Students get a hands-on opportunity to see how this plays out,” said Panaccio, also a Fox alumna. “It’s very different from the classroom experience.”

Most of the 24 students selected to participate were sophomores and juniors, along with a handful of seniors and Fisher, the only freshman. Preference was given to applicants with a 3.0 GPA or higher.

The project started at 7:15 a.m. with a briefing on IRS Criminal Investigation protocol following which the students were sworn in as agents before working their case. The investigation then began with conducting basic background and criminal history checks.

“I was really nervous. I think I’ve watched too many Law & Order-type shows,” said junior accounting and risk management double-major Tom Barron about conducting an interview as a mock special agent. “Compared to what you do in class, this is unique. I’ve enjoyed it.”

After the students compiled data about their targets and conducted interviews for the case, they began a defensive tactics training session. More than a dozen IRS special agents taught them the proper techniques for entering and clearing a building with a warrant, approaching and handcuffing a suspect, using physical strikes for self defense and how to appropriately suit up and handle a service weapon when executing a warrant.

“The students are definitely having a great time,” said Special Agent Robert Glantz. “They really feel like they’re one of us now that they have to carry a weapon for the rest of the day.”

The day culminated with students conducting surveillance and collecting evidence, then obtaining warrants and executing arrests.

“The Fox Project was a great opportunity to offer an alternate program to students who may not want to follow a traditional career path with their accounting degrees,” said Professor of Practice Sheri Risler, who represented the Department of Accounting during the program.

— Morgan Zalot