Why Forensic Accountants Are Needed In Court

Forensic accountants are involved in analyzing data for use in court trials, and they may be called as expert witnesses to give evidence at such trials. The use of the term "forensic" may give some rise to confusion, as this term is normally associated with the collecting of evidence from a crime scene, and analysis for such things as fingerprints and tire tracks. There is no real connection between traditional forensics and forensics accounting, other than the fact that they are both used in a court of law.

The main thrust of forensic accounting is to test paper or electronic accounts for accuracy. There can often be a need, in a legal situation, for one side to prove that a set of paper or electronic accounts are the true and accurate ones, and that they have been properly kept. It is well known that many businesses keep one set of accounts for tax purposes, and then another set for themselves. The second set is the accurate one, while the first reflects what the business wants the tax authorities to believe.

It is not only in tax disputes that accounts may end up in a courtroom. One of the most common types of law case in recent years has been the personal injury claim, and these cases often result in large damages being awarded against an organization deemed culpable. Accounts will be needed to demonstrate the ability of the business to pay and award given against it. If a large award is given, and the company becomes bankrupt as a result, the recipient of the award may end up with nothing, or at least less than if a more reasonable award was made.

There are also fraud cases where the examination of accounts in court is vital. It is common for criminals to create false paperwork to cover up the crimes they have committed, and these can be broken down and exposed in court. Errors can be uncovered by the comparison of one set of documents with another, or by comparing the accounts with activities in the real world. As accounts can have a knock on effect, it is also possible that a set of accounts can also bring to light irregularities within another organization.

The job of forensic accountants is obviously a highly specialized one, and a background in routine accounting is obviously going to be necessary. Once you have this background, you can take a specialist course through the police training system which will give you the qualification you need. This will give you an excellent chance of obtaining the position you want, as the number of qualified personnel is very low. If you are dedicated enough, you can certainly join the limited ranks of forensic accountants.






 

Computer Forensics News:

 

Robert Jay, Leveson's forensic inquirer, prepares to face Rupert Murdoch - The Guardian

The Guardian

Robert Jay, Leveson's forensic inquirer, prepares to face Rupert Murdoch
The Guardian
A leading silk in administrative and public law, Jay's most high-profile case up to now was against the oil-trading company Trafigura in 2007, which agreed to pay 30m in compensation to 31000 people in Ivory Coast who claimed they had fallen ill after .
James Murdoch Lightly GrilledThe Nation. (blog)

all 8,123 news articles »
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Volusia to sue former ad authority director over $45K in payments - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Volusia to sue former ad authority director over $45K in payments
Daytona Beach News-Journal
The county audit found Carni had earned $102000 between July and December 2011, much of it in overtime pay, and spent advertising authority funds on clothes and electronics. Before being hired as executive director, Carni billed the ad authority $50 to .

and more »
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Surprise Police, Fire departments not spared spending cuts - Tucson Citizen

Surprise Police, Fire departments not spared spending cuts
Tucson Citizen
Frazier said the cuts to his department include two vacant dispatcher positions and a vacant forensic technician. A training coordinator, which is responsible for scheduling all officer training, will be reclassified at a new pay scale, resulting in .

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Bit9 to Speak at CEIC 2012 on Cyber Forensics and Application Control
Bit9, the global leader in advanced threat protection, will be sponsoring and speaking at the upcoming CEIC 2012 conference in Las Vegas taking place from May 21-24, 2012. The event offers more than 110 world-class learning sessions for attendees to gain insight from experts in computer forensics, e-discovery, cyber security, enterprise investigations, IT security and more...


Compromise on child porn units' funding
KEITH WHITCOMB JR. BENNINGTON -- Funding over how to tackle the problem of child pornography and computer crimes has been essentially split by the Legislature...


 

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