Forensic accounting gained importance due to increasing number of financial frauds and scams. This new area in accounting encompasses accounting, auditing, and investigative skills, thus emerged to detect frauds. They...Forensic accounting gained importance due to increasing number of financial frauds and scams. This new area in accounting encompasses accounting, auditing, and investigative skills, thus emerged to detect frauds. They involve themselves in different areas like employee-related frauds, settlement and arbitrations, etc.. A forensic accountant has a financial sixth sense. Despite the fact that forensic accounting can bridge the gap between conventional accounting and auditing, this profession has not been able to gain the needed momentum due to some hassles. This paper tries to shed light on the theoretical concept, nature, practice, need, role of forensic accounting in preventing fraud, and the practical difficulties faced by forensic accountants. The study is based on information collected from interviewing practicing forensic accounting in India during 2011-12. The paper was able to assess the importance and rising scope of forensic accounting as a job. It also understood the practical difficulties they faced like lack of organized databases in Indian scenario which makes it difficult to access all needed information. Expectation level of the clients is very high and at times even unreasonable. This paper fulfills an identified need to study the important rising field of forensic accounting in India.展开更多
文摘Forensic accounting gained importance due to increasing number of financial frauds and scams. This new area in accounting encompasses accounting, auditing, and investigative skills, thus emerged to detect frauds. They involve themselves in different areas like employee-related frauds, settlement and arbitrations, etc.. A forensic accountant has a financial sixth sense. Despite the fact that forensic accounting can bridge the gap between conventional accounting and auditing, this profession has not been able to gain the needed momentum due to some hassles. This paper tries to shed light on the theoretical concept, nature, practice, need, role of forensic accounting in preventing fraud, and the practical difficulties faced by forensic accountants. The study is based on information collected from interviewing practicing forensic accounting in India during 2011-12. The paper was able to assess the importance and rising scope of forensic accounting as a job. It also understood the practical difficulties they faced like lack of organized databases in Indian scenario which makes it difficult to access all needed information. Expectation level of the clients is very high and at times even unreasonable. This paper fulfills an identified need to study the important rising field of forensic accounting in India.
