Forensic Accounting - defining this area of legal expertise

The combined use of accounting skills, auditing proficiency and investigative capability is what can be termed as forensic accounting. The aim is to come up with an accounting analysis that would be presented at a court of law as litigation support evidence in a dispute involving assets.

It's a highly specialized legal field and you need to have a competent forensic accounting professional for the job. What core areas are within this domain? Two major aspects are under forensic accounting - litigation support and investigative accounting. These are interrelated and one complements the other.

Here are some of the categories of cases that the experts of the domain may need to handle.

Criminal Investigations - In these cases the accountant works on the behalf of the law enforcement authorities to come up with evidence to prove the crime related to an economic aspect.

Compensation Claims - These forensic accountants help determine the economic losses of the victims of an accident or a workplace mishap or a medical malpractice and thus come up with the right compensation that needs to be provided.

Fraud Investigations - In employee fraud investigation the task includes finding proof to support its existence, analyzing the type and determining the degree as well as identifying the individual(s) associated with it.

Business Loss Investigations - This includes analyzing contract disputes, product liability claims, losses incurred from patent infringements, construction claims, and so on. The forensic accountant is capable of finding the details of these economic losses.

Marital Property Dispute Investigations - The distribution of marital property post divorce is another issue that requires help from a forensic accountant. It is their job to track all assets and evaluate them.

The chief tasks involved in forensic accounting litigation support are -

* To investigate and analyze the economic data available
* To develop computerized applications that would help analyze the date
* To present the financial evidence in a clear and concise manner
* To assist in legal proceedings (by preparing the evidence or by testifying as an witness with expertise in the field)

It is also the responsibility of the accountant to prepare reports, analysis, and presentations that could be submitted at court to support a claim or to refute one.

In such circumstance, choosing a competent professional is an absolute necessity. The two things to consider are the qualification and experience of the accountant. It is always wise to opt for someone who has handled similar cases in the past.

It is essential that the individual(s) handling forensic accounting has access to all the data regarding the case. Only then would they be able to come up with the correct analysis of the economic situation and help reach a resolution of the dispute.

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