To be successful, some of the key criteria which a forensic accountant should possess are:
-Forensic accountants must have strong financial accounting analytical abilities, they need to be able to identify 'potential' financial and accounting fraud and any misbehaves fast and accurate when the data is analyzed.
-They should possess strong written and verbal communication skills to convince not only the "Honorable Judge" in any Court Case, but to be effectively conveying the rightful data and messages to the lawyers, polices, the Authorities, The customers, the offenders, the Convicts, Private Investigators or anyone who need to come in contact with the forensic accountant himself during the case study itself.
-They need to have creative mind with sound business acumen/ judgment to explicitly call out for any potential gaps with areas where more investigations or different kind of investigations are needed , which might have been missed out due to over-look by the other teams before that.
-They must be able to interview and elicit information from potentially uncooperative people and possess a strong amount of skepticism. They need to be very observant and sharp. They look for everything from over-valuation of inventory, and improper capitalization of expenses to misstatement of earning and embezzlement
-They should always carry a proactive 'Hat" with them – Forensic accountants can look for signs of suspicious accounting activity and determine whether deliberate measures were taken to conceal or falsify data.
-He needs to be resourceful and knowledgeable in the different types of financial principles; Accounting Journals, Assets, Liability, Property, Children Custody, Divorce, Bankruptcy. This way, they are able to quantify the necessary damages or liabilities which are uncovered as the hidden financial assets.
-Forensic accountants must have the skills of both a private investigator and an accountant whom has the analytical abilities and research skills from your financial experience, including knowledge of accounting procedures and practices (proper and improper).
-Last but not least, a forensic accountant should be someone who is able to work long hours and during odd hours. This professional will also need to be capable of handling great pressure in dealing with increasing complexities of accounting frauds!
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by: Elaine_Ee_Lee
