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In the wake of far-reaching scandals such as Enron and WorldCom, and sweeping legislation like the Sarbanes-Oxley act, there is a growing demand for the services of forensic accountants. These specially trained individuals possess fraud examination skills which can help organizations in the detection and deterrence of fraud.
To succeed in this dynamic and competitive field, you need to master four fundamental areas of knowledge:
Criminology – Understanding the motivation of people who commit fraud and fraud deterrence
Financial Transactions - How can fraud be committed?
Fraud Investigation - How can fraud be detected and how is the information and evidence for fraud collected and documented?
Legal Elements of Fraud - How does the law affect investigating and prosecuting fraud? What legal options exist to recover lost money?
Forensic Accountants combine their accounting knowledge with investigative skills, using this unique combination in litigation support and investigative accounting settings. Forensic Accountants may be employed by public accounting firms’ forensic accounting divisions, by firms specializing in risk consulting and forensic accounting services, or by lawyers, law enforcement agencies, insurance companies, government organizations, or financial institutions. Due to society’s heightened awareness and growing intolerance of fraudulent activity, demand for forensic accountants is rapidly increasing.
Examples of Fraud:
- Money laundering
- Insurance claims
- Employee fraud investigations
- GAAP violations
- GAAS violations
- Telemarketing fraud
- Check kiting v
- Contract and procurement fraud
- Asset misappropriation
- Securities fraud
- Financial statement fraud
- Bankruptcy fraud
- Credit card fraud
- Embezzlement
Types of services performed
- Financial data analysis
- Evidence integrity analysis
- Computer application design
- Writing reports
- Compiling information
- Testifying as an expert witness
- Eliciting other experts’ assistance
- Maintaining documentation
- Damage assessment
- Tracing illicit funds
- Locating hidden assets
- Due diligence reviews
- Forensic intelligence gathering
- Business valuation
Useful skills, characteristics and subject areas of knowledge
- Accounting procedures
- Legal system and its procedures
- Present value and discount rates
- Regression analysis
- Computer applications
- Interpersonal communication
- Oral communication
- Written communication
- Summarize results
- Research skills
- Detail-oriented
- Analytical
- Professional skepticism
- Professional judgment
- Professional competence
- Integrity
- Objective
- Independent
- Credible
Education and Training
- Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Accounting
- Additional education in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
- Certified Public Accountant designation
- Certified Fraud Examiner designation
Interested in learning more about forensic accounting? Contact us »
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