Simply put,
forensic accounting is accounting that is suitable for legal review, offering
the highest level of assurance, and including the now generally accepted
connotation of having been arrived at in a scientific fashion. Forensic
accountants, also referred to as forensic auditors or investigative auditors,
often have to give expert evidence at the eventual trial.
External
Auditors find out the deliberate misstatements only but the Forensic Accountants
find out the misstatements deliberately. External auditors look at the numbers
but the forensic auditors look beyond the numbers.
Forensic
accountant takes a more proactive, skeptical approach in examining the books of
Accounting. They make no assumption of management integrity (if they can assume
so then there is no need for their appointment) show less concerns for the
arithmetical accuracy have nothing to do with the Accounting or Assurance
standards but are keen in exposing any possibility of fraud.
