Forensic accounting is accounting that involves legal action, or that is expected to involve such action. Forensic accountants usually work closely with attorney and corporations, although there are other potential positions. Forensic accountants audit and watch over many different industries and situations. Within criminal legal proceedings, the testimony of such accountants is often of importance. Forensic accounting is necessary to sift through the mountains of data that can be evidence in contemporary courtrooms. The requirements to become a forensic accountant can be relatively difficult to achieve. There are key elements and skills required to be a forensic accountant. Understanding the relationship between the skill and actually practice applications are sometimes different. The main role of a Forensic Accountant will be documented in greater detail while understand the legal responsibility of the provided service using case studies where Forensic Accountants provide vital evidence of importance. A Forensic Accountant jobs is very important to the person performing the duty and the individual or authority the duty is being perform on behave. Forensic accounting is the latest addition to the accountant’s business portfolio. The National Association of Forensic Accountants (NAFA) say Forensic accounting is the single hottest topic in accounting today. As a Forensic Accountant they investigative analysis of financial accounts to examine not only how much, what, where and when but why, and to have the conclusions stand up to the highest scrutiny (www.nafanet.com). From the NAFA website the (3) services involved investigate and examination techniques. The differences are noted in the objectives of the engagements, the execution of the procedures, and the parties to whom the auditors are obligated. They conduct duties related to Financial auditing, Fraud auditing as well as the duties of a CPA or CIA. The objective of a forensic accounting engagement is related specifically to the issue defined by the party engaging the accountant. The client defines a specific goal such as calculating losses, calculating the royalties, calculating the value of the pension plan, etc. There are two more major aspects within forensic-accounting practice to litigation services that recognize the role of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) as an expert or consultant and investigative services that make use of the CPA's skills, which may or may not lead to courtroom testimony. Forensic accounting can involve the application of special skills in accounting, auditing, finance, quantitative methods, certain areas of the law and research, and investigative skills to collect, analyze, and evaluate evidential matter and to interpret and communicate findings (www.nafanet.com). Forensic-accounting is the application of accounting principles, theories, and disciplines to facts or hypotheses at issue in a legal dispute, and encompasses every branch of accounting knowledge. This is very similar to what a (CPA) Certified Professional Accountant duty would include on a project or job.
The roles of a Forensic Accountant as stated previously are very similar to what a CPA does for a corporation. The major difference is that Forensic accounting is the specialty practice area of accounting that describes engagements which result from real or anticipated litigation, and encompasses both litigation support and investigative accounting. So they work is used mainly for the courtroom environment and litigation purposes. This can consist of reconstructing records which were accidentally or intentionally destroyed; investigating accounting records including tracing transactions to supporting source documents; requesting known financial documents; coordinating requests for replacement documentation; and analyzing financial results and balances for completeness and reasonableness (www.forensicaccountingservices.com). They
