Three Points About Forensic Accounting

Are you trying to further your career accounting career by specializing in a specific type of accounting? If so, forensic accounting may be a good option for you. Forensic accounting is a specialized area of practice in the accounting industry that revolves around analyzing and interpreting complex financial and business-related issues. Forensic accountants are often employed by insurance companies, government agencies, police departments, and banks. While forensic accounting may seem like an interesting career move, there are three important things that you need to consider before you decide to become a forensic accountant.

Because you'll need to meet a lot of educational requirements to become a forensic accountant, it's important to be committed to your career choice. In addition to obtaining your bachelor's or master's degree in accounting and your Certified Public Accounting certificate, you'll need to obtain the Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) credential from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. This credential requires passing the CFF exam as well as completion of 1,000 hours of relevant business experience and seventy-five hours of continuing professional education. In addition, education in criminal justice or law enforcement will give you an added advantage.

Forensic accounting covers a variety of smaller specialized fields, so it's important that you know what type of forensic accounting you'd like to specialize in. Some of the options include fraud prevention and detection, economic damages calculations, valuation, and financial statement misrepresentation. Regardless of the field you choose to pursue, some of your job duties will include:

• Investigating and analyzing financial evidence
• Assisting in legal proceedings, including testifying in court and preparing visual aids to support trial evidence
• Communicating findings in the form of reports, exhibits, and collections of documents

Because forensic accountants need certain characteristic traits and core skills, it's important that you take the time to give yourself an honest assessment; if you lack the proper core skills and traits, forensic accounting probably isn't a good fit for you. In addition to being able to perform well under pressure, some of the personal characteristics a forensic accountant should possess include being:

• Analytical
• Detail oriented
• Ethical
• Responsive
• Insightful
• Inquisitive
• Persistent
• Skeptical

Some core skills for a forensic accountant include the ability to:

• Think like a wrongdoer
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Understand the goals of a case
• Organize an unstructured situation
• Research and solve problems
• Use intuition in investigations
• Think critically and strategically

The accounting industry covers a variety of specialties. While forensic accounting is in high demand, it isn't a job that everyone has the ability to handle. Once you've determined that you possess the required skills and traits, know which field you want to specialize in and understand what the job will entail, and can commit to obtaining the proper education, you'll be able to pursue a career in forensic accounting.

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