To commemorate the only classroom-based MBA program in financial fraud and identity theft in the country, Saint Xavier University will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday at its new Loop location at the Chicago Bar Association building, 321 S. Plymouth Ct.

Since January, Saint Xavier has offered graduate classes in the Financial Fraud Examination and Management program in the Chicago Bar Association building. The U.S. Air Force and Chicago Police Department have both chosen the program to train agents and officers in identity theft and financial and procurement fraud.

"Saint Xavier is fortunate to partner with the Chicago Bar Association in this way," SXU President Judith A. Dwyer said of the "unique MBA program".

One of the newest graduate degrees at Saint Xavier University, the program combines elements of law enforcement, law, accounting and general business education.

The need for financial fraud examiners is rapidly growing, largely due to new federal laws requiring auditors to take additional steps to identify fraud as well as new accounting standards enacted since the Enron scandal, said said William Kresse, assistant professor and director of the Financial Fraud Examination and Management graduate program at Saint Xavier