What advantages do forensic accountants have over internal fraud investigators?
Executives investigating suspected financial irregularities waste time and money in their efforts. Their internal investigations consume valuable time they could be using to oversee business operations and to make money. Often, they tip off perpetrators to the fact that there is a probe going on. Consequently, they often exacerbate the problems instead of finding solutions. Worse, they can create situations that lead to costly and embarrassing harassment claims and lawsuits against their firms — and themselves. The forensic accountants take the lead and launch investigations at any level of the company — from the top down — to determine whether financial irregularities actually occurred. Once they make that determination, they ascertain how long the process has been going on, identify the party or parties responsible for the irregularities, calculate the loss amounts from those irregularities and assist in loss recovery. More importantly, they recommend, implement and monitor remedies
