Foensic Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Foensic Accounting - Research Paper Example Litigation support and expert witness are the part of forensic accounting. Forensic accounting is carried out by the forensic accountants. The following are the 5 skills that are needed for a forensic accountant to be proficient in his work: 1) Good decision maker: The forensic accountant seeks for evidence for the suspicion of fraud that is surfaced through an allegation or complaint. Thus they have to be strong in taking decisions in order to judge whether the allegation or the complaints are true or not. They have to do the preliminary investigation of the fraud or the complaint so they have to gather all the information about the fraud and thus at last make a decision. The decision should not be biased. They should possess the ability to audit the financial statements regularly with proficiencies and investigate those situations that can lead to severe fraud. The financial statements that are prepared by the chartered accountants or the accountants of any company are examined min utely by them so that no fraudulent statement is made to the management that can later lead to problems for both of them (Hyman, 2001). 2) Proficient with the investigation rules and procedures: They are experienced accountants, auditors or the investigators of the financial and legal documents. Thus they are quite proficient with the rules and regulations of the investigation and assist the lawyers and the legal team in their work. They have proficiency in the latest accounting standards and the procedures that are used in the Financial Reporting Systems. They are assigned to give recommendations that will make the internal controls strong and efficient for the working of any business. As an investigator they should seek for evidences that can be provided in the court of law and they should have the ability to investigate the tips of fraud and allegations. They should possess the quality to sort, compare and analyze the data that are to be investigated. They should keep good relati on with the prosecuting and investigating agencies that are involved in the case (Hyman, 2001). 3) Can make efficient judgment: They are hired to look into the fraudulent activities within the company. They should possess the quality of making any right judgment on behalf of the company. They should not make any biased judgment as that can lead to their termination if proved guilty. It can also create problem for the accountants who are responsible for the financial reporting. They work closely as law enforcement teams with the lawyers. During any investigation they often act as expert witnesses in the trials at courts. Thus they have to make the right statement in the court so that the company as well as the people concerned with the investigation does not feel deceive (Hyman, 2001). 4) Excellent knowledge about the State and the Federal laws: They should have an understanding about the different monetary units that are used internationally for the different types of foreign accoun ts so that they can make an evaluation when needed. They also play the role of attorney so they must have good knowledge about the recent Federal and State laws and regulations so that they can approve or disapprove severe fraud (Hyman, 2001). 5) Good communicator: They should also possess good communication skills so that they are understandable to every individual who do not have any knowledge of accounting standa