When you turn on your news, if it’s not a disaster or politics (or both), there’s often a news story about fraud. Be it robocalls, phishing emails, or hacks into large companies data/privacy. With the advent of the internet, it has become far easier for scammers and criminals to commit fraud as the entire world revolves around it. The Global Fraud and Identity Report show that the number of businesses that have experienced fraud losses has increased from 33% to 36% from last year. As a result, there is a great demand for people with excellent numerical skills to work as forensic accountants.
To determine what causes suspicious financial activity, forensic accountants use their auditing abilities and investigative skills to find the cause. A business leader can find this valuable information in trial and recoup losses sustained during a scam by using credible evidence. After all, there’s nothing worse than being scammed than not knowing your being scammed.
Since forensic accountants are involved in a lot of important work and do a lot of difficult work, they tend to have myriad years of experience and know where (and what) to look for. The field of analytics remains a top choice for many would-be CPAs due to the growing need for qualified technicians.
What does a forensic accountant do?
An accountant who practices forensic accounting examines data before deciding where missing funds have gone and how to recover them. They will also hold hearings, where they will often testify as expert witnesses, presenting financial reports of their findings as evidence.
Many companies and organizations whose work serves an essential purpose include publicly-traded accounting and consulting firms, law firms, and law enforcement agencies. As noted above, the forensic accountant’s role in all of these different contexts varies. Scammers tend to target organizations based on the duties that they perform and how they deal with money. Several accountants work for law enforcement agencies and law firms investigating fraud cases on a broader scale, for example.
It is likely that accountants working in more specialized fields, such as public accounting or insurance, will focus their efforts on specific types of fraud, such as insurance fraud. The likelihood of forensic accountants working for some government agencies testifying in court has increased.
Forensic accountants have a crucial role in financial security and safety. As a result, they need specific skills to carry out the job effectively. As shown in the following section, forensic accountants need a variety of skills and prerequisites to perform their job and how those skills are applied to various cases.