Pretrial Support
Trial Support
Expert Witnesses
Pretrial support:
In outline form, the pretrial stage includes: writing a report, establishing causation, gathering facts, translating Jargon, organizing data and then formulating strategy.
At the pretrial stage, the forensic accountant may be asked by the attorney to write a report on any findings, to establish causation between the defendant’s actions and the plaintiff’s losses, to gather facts to support the case, to translate accounting jargon into understandable English, to organize the data supporting the case, or to assist in the formulation of a strategy.
Trial Support:
As the trial coming, the expert witness will prepare testimony and rehearse for the courtroom appearance. Preparing exhibits is an important part of this process. The experts on both sides can aid attorneys during the trial process. The attorney for the plaintiff is trying to develop a strong theory of causation and a theory of damages. The attorney for the defendant is trying to discredit those theories. The forensic accountant’s expertise in business matters can be very helpful to the attorney in analyzing the situation as it develops in court.
Expert Witnesses:
The judge at trial will decide whether a purported expert qualifies as an expert testimony. To determine whether a witness is qualified, the judge must be convinced that the individual knows or understands the matters about which testimony is to be rendered and that the expert possesses special knowledge, experience, training, or skills that pertain to the case and testimony.
HW Chapter 2: List the Certifications Available to a Forensic Accountant with a brief description of the requirements and skills acquired
Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA)
1.Hold a valid and unrevoked CPA license or certificate issued by a legally constituted state authority
2.Pass the CFF examination. Applicants must attest to meeting the minimum Business Experience and Education requirements and pay the appropriate credential fee. Business Experience Requirement CFF candidates must have a minimum of 1,000 hours of business experience in forensic accounting within the 5-year period preceding the date of the CFF application. Education Requirement CFF candidates must have 75hours of forensic accounting related continuing professional education (CPE). All hours must have been obtained within the 5-year period preceding the date of the CFF application.
Certified Valuation Analyst:
For CPAs, they should hold an active, valid, and unrevoked CPA license. For Non-CPAs, they should hold a business degree or higher business degree from an accredited college or university.
In addition, all applicants should be a practitioner member in good standing with NACVA and need to submit three personal and three business references and pass a comprehensive, five-hour, multiple-choice, proctored examination.
Certified Forensic Accountant (Cr.FA)
Candidates need to hold the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation; have a bachelor’s degree or higher; have a background in forensic accounting; complete and pass the Cr.FA examination; provide the ACFEI with photocopies of all degrees, diplomas, certificates, and licenses earned.
If applicants aren’t a CPA but meet all the other requirements to enroll in the Cr.FA program, you can earn a Certificate of Completion upon passing the exam but can’t use the Cr.Fa designation.
HW Chapters 3 and 4:
Review Handout of Financial Statements and Tax Returns to identify areas of financial fraud. Explain why you think certain areas need more analysis. What additional procedures would you perform?
According to the handout of Financial Statements of the ABC Clothing Company for 4 years from 2003-2006, a vertical analysis is used. In the income statement, net