According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), by 2021, there will be a 13% job growth for accountants and auditors. Naturally, that includes the area of forensic accounting that has an important role in the finance sector and will have growth in the near future. An additional factor to consider here is the increasing number of financial cybercrimes. It is claimed that over 60% of cyber complaints registered are related to financial crimes. Hence the demand for professionals in forensic accounting will grow more in the coming future.
Just like any other profession, merging with technology is challenging in the finance field too. It has unlimited potential but also hurdles. The need for better forensic accountants with good technical knowledge will be huge in the future and they will play a crucial role in shaping the accounting and financial world and its transformation to digital.
How to become a Forensic Accountant?
In fact, there is no fixed course of study that officially makes you a forensic accountant. So, if you are wishing to build your career around, you should be focusing on doing certification courses along with some other traditional accounting and financial courses. Below, we will explain some of them that are considered valuable in the field of forensic accountancy.
What are the skills needed to be a Forensic accountant?
Financial Analysis
Most of the time a Forensic accountant needs to go through financial statements thoroughly, hence this profession needs strong analytical and critical thinking skills
Investigation
Any investigation demands the skills to build a case with strong evidence in accordance with the laws. So forensic accountants need to have high investigative skills along with knowledge of law enforcement, investigation, and building a case in the legal aspect.
Auditing
One of the basic skills that forensic accounts need. They need to review documents, find accounting errors, look through potential cases, etc. So, most times they start with connecting all through the accounts.
Communication
They need strong communication skills. The specificities, case scenarios, explanations of an investigation might be extremely technical in nature. When it comes to court procedures, communicating law enforcement, etc, communication is an important aspect considering the technicalities and concepts rooted in finance terms.
Organization
Going through multiple data and cases, they need to be extremely organized for the investigation. It is most important that they get the data, arguments, and cases in order.
Computer Skills
Each day the role of technology is growing in all the fields. It is a no-brainer when we say forensic accountants need to be good with computer skills.
What are the best forensic accounting certification course?
Certified Public Accountant (CPA):
CPA will not exactly give you any holding in the forensic account specifically but it is an extremely valuable certification. The course goes through an intense syllabus and clearing the exam is one of the toughest tasks. So naturally, a successful candidate will have a rigorous understanding of finance and accounting which creates a much-needed base. The Association of Certified Public Accountants also issues a certification course named Certified in Financial Forensics (CAA) which is a specified credential. If you are looking to become a highly qualified forensic accountant, these two courses are the best in the world.
Certified Forensic Accounting Professional
Offered by the national stock exchange (NSE), this is one of the most recognized courses in India about forensic accounting. The course provides a detailed understanding of the nuances of forensic accounting. The Certified Forensic Accounting Professional course gives a comprehensive study about the nature of work in the modern age with a mixture of theoretical base and practical experiences.
With the course, learners will learn about the common practices, accounting methods, that help to find financial crimes. In a nutshell, the course goes through the ways to find Asset misappropriation, falsification of financial statements and different means of corruption, FCPA compliance, including bribery, extortion, bid-rigging, etc.
Certified Stock Market Forensic Accountant
If you know the name Hashal Mehta or the TV series “Scam 1992” then you might already have an idea about how big frauds can be in the stock exchange business. Not only rigging the stock prices but there are wider areas where fraud can be found. It not only impacts the people who are in the business but also it has a broader impact, the policy-making of banks, the credibility of the trade, and overall, it affects the economy.
The Certified Stock Market Forensic Accountant course is also offered by NSE, it gives an in-depth insight about accountancy fraud and stock exchange. The course navigates you through the ways in which you can detect potential fraud scenarios and flag them. In fact, the job of a forensic accountant carries much weight that they cover a vast area such as accounting, auditing, technology, laws and regulations, and many more tech-related crimes
These are some of the major courses you can do to get a credible certificate that helps you to advance your career. Among these, there are several short-term and online courses where you can learn and upskill.
