What do forensic accountants do?
Intrigue. Mystery. Excitement. More often the stuff of a Raymond Chandler hard-boiled detective or a Cold War-era secret agent, the crime-fighting, mystery-filled life of a forensic accountant is miles away from the “bean counter” accounting stereotype. Forensic accountants combine their accounting, auditing and investigative skills to analyze and interpret business and financial evidence, and can participate in trials as expert witnesses. Working on anything from bankruptcy and divorce cases to major fraud and capital crime cases—it was a forensic accountant who finally caught gangster extraordinaire Al Capone—forensic accountants have the sometimes unlikely combination of an exquisite eye for detail, a solid background in both accounting basics and legal concepts, and a love of the excitement that comes with law as well as order. To begin working towards a career in forensic accounting, find accounting bachelors, MBA, or MAcc degree programs.
