subject: Forensic Accounting: A Challenging Career Avenue [print this page] If you are looking for a high profile job that is also regarded as a lucrative career option you can give Forensic Accounting a serious thought. It is definitely going to offer you an interesting job profile with a high pay package as well as stability. The job profile will be quite similar to that of a private investigator the only difference being your focus area limited to financial matters.
Forensic accounting is no way as monotonous as traditional accounting or auditing. It involves crimes and legal matters like identity theft, financial fraud, insurance fraud and so on. Therefore forensic accounting becomes an exciting job. You need to scrutinize and investigate the entire situation going beyond general statistics. The job demands a holistic approach and the forensic accountant need to analyze the situation like a detective.
Difference between Traditional Accounting & Forensic Accounting
It is true that traditional accounting and forensic accounting share some similar characteristics but that is only on a basic level. If you take a close look you will see that there are lots of differences in the required skill set, the work procedure followed and obviously the role-played.
The work of forensic accountants is not limited to preparing audit report. They need to deal with various situations. While traditional accounts review financial transactions, forensic accountants are expected to recognize financial fraud and scrutinize on that. In fact as a financial account you should offer plans to eradicate the risk of theft and fraud.
The work of a traditional accountant centers on error detection, rectifying those errors and preventing such errors in future. However forensic accounting and fraud investigation covers a wide area which includes:
Money laundering
Property damage
Business purchases
Divorce asset evaluation
Lost profits due to misuse and illegal activities
Tax avoidance
Job Role of Forensic Accountant
The job of a forensic accountant is so interesting because it blends the knowledge and skill of an auditor and the intellect and observation power of an investigator. In order to become a forensic accountant you need to have the following skills.
Intelligence
Good Analyzing capability
Good observation power
Exposure to law
In depth knowledge of finance
Expertise in audit
Understanding of applied psychology
As a forensic accountant your first duty is to analyze the matter. You will have to make complex financial matters understandable to non-accounting people. If you think there is any misrepresentation of the financial data you will have to use standard analytical tools to detect the fraud, make a report of your findings, help the legal proceeding to solve the issue and finally take measures to prevent such frauds in future.
