In the field of forensic accounting, you will be familiar with the courtroom, as you will spend some of your time testifying as to your findings in investigations of fraud or embezzlement in white-collar crime. Your role will be to advise judges and attorneys on the financial aspects of the case. The cases you are involved in can range from issues related to professional negligence by accountants to share valuations and the division of property in divorce proceedings. This field of the accounting industry is in greater demand today than ever before and so offers many opportunities for employment. There are many more cases of corporate fraud being investigated than ever before.
There are two basic areas of forensic accounting – investigative work accounting and litigation support. In investigative accounting, the forensic accountant does not just look at the financial statements and reports, but does an investigation of the business as a whole. Every possible financial aspect of the business is looked at and carefully scrutinized so as to prepare a comprehensive report that may be used in court. The reports from forensic accountants provide the litigation support needed by the prosecution. In this role, you will have to spend time on the premises of the business that you are investigating. It is only when you start to analyze the information and data you collect to prepare your reports that you will use your own office.
The qualifications you need to get involved in forensic accounting include a Bachelor’s degree in accounting or in forensic accounting. This field of the accounting industry warrants its own set of skills and now many universities have a degree program devoted to it. You will start out doing routine accounting work to learn the accounting industry and this will most likely be in a public accounting firm or in an entry-level position in the government. You do need to have at least two years of experience in public accounting before you can take the CPA exam, which is another requirement for becoming a forensic accountant. It is also essential that your work experience includes auditing financial records.
You can work as an assistant in the field of forensic accounting, but in order to become a full-fledged investigator, you need to become certified in this accounting specialty. You can be a certified forensic accountant or a certified fraud examiner. In this line of work where just about all the financial data of a business is stored on a computer, it would be beneficial to have the certification as an information systems auditor as well.
You need to have excellent oral and written communication skills, as well as excellent interpersonal skills to work effectively in forensic accounting. You will be working closely with law enforcement officials and are a sort of investigator in your own right. Therefore you have to be tactful when dealing with the executives of the business under investigation and not reveal too much information to them about your findings. This is the work of the attorneys. ,You only present what you find to the appropriate officials in the case.
