The field of forensic accounting is actually much more widespread than many of us believe. Whenever we hear the word "forensic" we automatically jump to things like crime scene investigators removing tiny shreds of evidence with their little tweezers. While forensic technically means concerning or of a court of law, there are plenty of circumstances where the courtroom does not enter the picture.
A forensic accountant can perform what is known as a forensic audit. This can have two different outcomes, depending on the reason for the initial request. The audit of a financially struggling company can reveal many areas where money is being wasted and overspent. This allows the company to derive a more satisfactory outcome than bankruptcy. Many companies are shocked to find how much money they are wasting and how much micromanaging of finds can turn things around.
Of course, then there are forensic audits that can lead to a visit to the court room. When tight litigation, often dealing with fraud or monetary discrepancies, are headed for court the first thing a lawyer can do is call in a forensic expert. In this case it would be aforensic accountant.
Naturally, it's gotten much more difficult to be a forensic accountant in today's world. Electronics are difficult to hack and track let alone the wide scale ability for funds to be quietly moved from one country to another. Tracking embezzlers has become a job that would be impossible without the dedicated efforts of accountants with a forensic background.
Fraud is an interesting crime that can have brutal consequences. While many people convince themselves that the crimes surrounding money really don't hurt anyone. They do. Crimes of a financial nature can be devastating. Kids have to drop out of college, retirement has to wait, and medical bills don't get paid when financial fraud hits anyone from a large corporation to the quiet theft of an estate.
The perception that only the wealthy company owners are struck down by crimes involving embezzlement or other theft crimes is highly inaccurate. The CEO doesn't step down just because someone swindled large amounts of money from the company. The CEO lays off hard working employees instead. From there it is a ripple effect. This naturally has an effect from the beginning of the ripple to the end. If you could be the person that found where the funds were hidden or track the responsible individual you can have a positive hand in that ripple as well.
Fortunately, in order to prevent and track monetary fraud a forensic accountant can look into the most finite of financial details and reveal facts that are necessary and pertinent to any investigation. These accountants are often used to validate interstate or inter country worker's compensation claims as well in order to discern fraud.
Whether it's saving a business from financial ruin or it's discovering a fraudulent case on the court docket, this type of accounting can cover a wide range of potential jobs. Without it, there would be little to do when it comes to protecting the money that we need to simply survive.