Forensic Accounting Courses History
Forensic Accounting is one of the oldest
professions on earth. In ancient Egypt, the forensic accountant was
called the "eyes and ears" of the king.
For information on how to sign up,
click on
Program Details
in the left-hand navigation bar.
In more recent years,
forensic accountants who worked in public practice were often called
after owners suspected that fraud had been committed. Now, recent major
corporate scandals have prompted business owners to turn to Certified
Fraud Examiners (CFE) for proactive fraud checkups (Cincinnati
Business Courier, 2/24/03). The fraud these specialists are looking
for is usually one of two general types: financial statement fraud or
theft of assets (these two types can co-exist in the situation in
which management has taken assets and misstated financial statements
to cover up the defalcation). To uncover financial statement fraud,
the forensic accountant often analyzes the financial statements by
using ratio analysis and certain data-mining techniques such as
Benford’s Law, a procedure used to determine the likelihood that data
have been altered. Other procedures performed include inspection of
documents and records and the conduct of interviews with persons who
would have knowledge about any fraud that’s occurred.
The occupational
fraud committed by employees usually involves the theft of assets.
Embezzlement has been the most often committed fraud for the last 30
years. Employees may be involved in kickback schemes, identity theft,
or conversion of corporate assets for personal use. The forensic
accountant couples observation of the suspected employees with
physical examination of assets, invigilation, inspection of documents,
and interviews of those involved. Experience on these types of
engagements enables the forensic accountant to offer suggestions as to
internal controls that owners could implement to reduce the likelihood
of fraud.
At times, the
forensic accountant may be hired by attorneys to investigate the
financial trail of persons suspected of engaging in criminal
activity. Information provided by the forensic accountant may be the
most effective way of putting these persons behind bars. The forensic
accountant may also be engaged by bankruptcy court when submitted
financial information is suspect or if employees (including managers)
are suspected of taking assets.
Forensic
Accounting Courses |
