Forensic Accounting is HOT!

U.S. News & World Report has described forensic accountants as "the bloodhounds of bookkeeping who sniff out fraud and criminal transactions in corporate financial records." It also spotlighted forensic accounting as one of the "20 hot job tracks of the future" and one of eight "careers to count on." (U.S. News and World Report, 2/18/02, pp.46-48, 50)

WHAT IS FORENSIC ACCOUNTING?

Forensic accounting is the application of accounting principles, theories, and techniques to facts of hypotheses at issue in a legal dispute. The field encompasses every branch of the accounting discipline. Forensic accountants have the knowledge and skills to detect, investigate and prevent fraud and white collar criminal activity.

Forensic accounting is often segregated into two practice areas: Investigative Accounting and Litigation Support.

• Investigative accounting involves investigations of criminal matters. Investigations typically involve employee theft, securities fraud, insurance fraud, and theft of intellectual property.
• Forensic accountants provide litigation support by serving as consulting or testifying experts on fraud-related matters. Such support might include estimating business interruption losses, conducting business valuations and ascertaining the cause of audit failures.

WHAT DO FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS DO?

Forensic accountants assist in resolving civil disputes and criminal prosecutions involving financial crimes and assist in fraud prevention, asset location and recovery. Forensic accountants often work with other experts such as private investigators, forensic document examiners and attorneys to review facts and develop ligation strategy. They prepare reports summarizing their findings and may also testify as expert witnesses in court. Typical engagements include investigations of employee theft, financial statement fraud, professional negligence, business disputes, marital disputes, and business valuations.