How To Become A Forensic Accountant
Use your Accounting Background to Fight Crime as a Forensic Accountant
Accounting and law enforcement are not two areas that usually go together, but in accounting forensics, you can use your accounting training to help solve bankruptcy, fraud and other criminal investigations. With these skills, a forensic accountant can be called on by any law enforcement agency, local, state or federal, whenever a case requires it, so the job is diverse and requires the ability to be flexible, travel and of course extreme analytical and research skills. A forensic accountant is the police department's tool against any financial crime committed in a company, bank or organization, and without this role, many illegal acts could fall through the cracks. If you can see yourself in this capacity, find out how to enhance your accounting degree to open new doors in your career.
Necessary Training
Although you don't necessarily need a criminal justice degree, it is a given that you need to begin with a bachelors degree in accounting, but from there you need to specialize your skills in a forensics point of view. You will need to be certified as a CPA, but it is then recommended to either become a CFA (certified fraud examiner) or a CrFA (certified forensic accountant) which will open up more opportunities for you. The next beneficial step is to join a professional organization, like the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, since it will increase your reputation and credentials and give you access to more opportunities. The accounting and legal skills that you will acquire can then be matched to your attention to detail and creativity to earn you a salary ranging from $30,000-$60,000 to start but going as high as over $120,000 which is very rewarding among careers in criminal justice.
Responsibilities of the Job
A forensic accountant must pore over financial records and documents of a corporation when an auditor flags it as suspicious to establish if any act of fraud has taken place. They may also be called in when someone suspects a company of illegal activity or when the company is involved in a court case. They are trained to detect embezzelement, suspicious files for bankruptcy, or any other potentially criminal financial act. Their accounting skills matched with their knowledge of criminal justice allows them to find anything out of the ordinary, document it and perhaps even testify in court about it. Accounting forensics is a key component to crime investigation since many corporations are brought down on their analysis alone, so as a forensic accountant, be sure to obtain as many certifications and credentials as you can to be prepared for anything.
Criminal Justice Degree |
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