In India, in the wake of the Satyam scam, demand for forensic accountants
have gone up. There is an increase in the rate of white collar crimes,
such as securities fraud and banking and investments embezzlement. As
a result, the demand for professionals, who are experts in financial procedures
and have strong analytical as well as investigative skills, is on the
rise. Those who have completed a forensic accounting program will work
anywhere investigative accounting is needed. Forensic Accounting firms
are everywhere and will exist as long as human beings exist. Forensic
Accountants work in most major accounting firms and are needed for investigating
mergers and acquisitions, and in tax investigations, economic crime investigations,
all kinds of civil litigation support, specialized audits, and even in
terrorist investigations. A majority of cases which these professionals
deal in are divorce disputes, business carelessness investigation claims,
and personal injury claims.
Forensic Accountants work throughout the business world, ranging from
private corporations or firms that help specific companies deal with suspected
(or known) fraud and embezzlement to government organizations like police
departments, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), FBI or the CIA
(Central Intelligence Agency), the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Forensic accountants also frequently
work for public accounting firms, banks, the IRS (Indian Revenue Service),
insurance companies and law firms.
Law firms often use forensic accountants to help divorcees uncover their
hidden assets. In public accounting firms forensic accountants investigate
and interpret crimes such as securities fraud and embezzlement, bankruptcies
and contract disputes, and other complex and possibly criminal financial
transactions, including money laundering by organized criminals. Corporations
hire forensic accountants to investigate allegations of fraud on the part
of their employees, suppliers, or customers. In criminal investigations,
forensic accountants analyze complex financial transactions such as those
in stock market manipulations and price fixing schemes. They also help
governments achieve compliance with various forms of regulation. The job
of a forensic accountant demands reporting, where the accountability of
the fraud is established and the report is considered as evidence in the
court of law or in the administrative proceeding. Forensic accountants
help uncover those companies cooking the books to falsely inflate company
profits, minimize losses or divert large amounts of money to company leaders.
They also provide litigation support to attorneys and law enforcement
agencies investigating financial wrongdoing.
