Forensic Audit

Thu Jun 3, 2021

Individuals who have a keen lens and even five senses are activated dozens of times; Forensic Audit is the field for them. Forensic accountants’ roles go beyond looking after the financial statements, including investigation, collecting evidence, and report writing that is presentable in the court. Thus, a healthy Scepticism is the professional necessity of this industry..

Regardless of the type and size, organizations are always prone to fraud. Taking the insurance covers to prevent financial losses won’t help in gaining the organization’s reputation back. As soon as a corporate scandal is detected, the organization or its lawyers hire forensic accountants to collect facts and figures. Based on these shreds of evidence, the court gives the final judgment. As ACP Pradhyuman in CID says, “Daya kuch toh gadbad hai, puri chhaan bin karo” is somewhat the same in a forensic audit. Auditors gather evidence and the accounting records, ensure their integrity by using various forensic tools on the client’s server, investigate all those things, and present the findings for legal action.

Organizations may often face the Cyber Security risk as the ‘work from home’ concept leads to high risk for the organization’s critical data. The organizations are aware that due to Covid-19 situations, their performances will not be that healthy; thus, they may manipulate proper books of accounts in such a way that they will get the required corporate funding. These situations usually surface after the crises and make organizations prone to fraud detection in the later years. Thus, the Covid-19 time is a breeding environment for fraud, whether it be corporate fraud or personal fraud.

Freshers who intend to enter forensic audit with zero experience should attend seminars related to fraud prevention and detection to enhance their knowledge base. They should study the various frauds happening and develop a reactive thinking approach. One can even start the forensic accounting journey in smaller firms if he has to and learn as much as possible. Various Forensic Accounting Degree Programs offered by the different Institutes in India and abroad can help to get an idea of detecting frauds. Courses such as the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) course from ACFE (most recognized), Certificate course on Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection from ICAI are a cherry on the cake to best fit for high packages.

Aspiring CA interested in Forensic Audit must develop their mindset like a fraudster as the fraudsters are always one step ahead and careful in the ways to escape smoothly. As every case is different, one needs to get off the track and think wisely every time to crack the case; thus, this domain eliminates the monotonous work. Much patience is required in this department, as one may have to analyze piles of data files to get through a single solution. For instance, look after thousands of emails to get just one email needed. Any previous experience in forensics will always be an add-on point in the interview. It would help if you are passionate and not only fascinated by this field for sure.