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A GUIDE TO FORENSIC ACCOUNTING INVESTIGATION
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The catastrophic business failures of this decade have been revealing on many
levels. From my professional perspective as a forensic accounting investigator, I
couldn’t help but notice the need across much of the business community for a
better grasp of the scope and skills of the forensic accounting investigator. Most
people seemed to be struggling. How could these massive frauds have occurred?
How can such events be deterred—if not wholly prevented—in the future? Who
is responsible for deterrence, detection, and investigation? Is it a matter of systems,
of attitudes, of aggressive internal policing, of more stringent regulatory
oversight, of “all of the above” and more still? What methods are effective?
What should an auditor, a corporate director, an executive look for? There were
far more questions than answers, and all the questions were difficult. Forensic
accounting investigation had become important to the larger business community
and the public. They were relying on it to solve problems, deter new problems,
and contribute to new, tougher standards of corporate behavior and
reported information. But all concerned, from CEOs to financial statement auditors,
still have much to learn about the relatively new discipline of forensic
accounting investigation.
We live in the post-Enron era. The keynotes of the era are tough new legislation
and regulation to strengthen corporate governance and new oversight of the
auditors. Additionally, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(PCAOB) continues to review the need for a new fraud standard. All of these initiatives
are intended to increase investor confidence in corporate information.
Pushing these trends relentlessly forward is the conviction of the concerned
public that corporate fraud is unacceptable. It may well occur—this is an imperfect
world—but everything must be done to deter, detect, investigate, and penalize
it. Investors look to corporate directors and executives, internal and external
auditors, and regulators to keep companies honest. They want to be able to trust
securities analysts to report and recommend without concealed self-interest. And
they expect lenders, business partners, and others who deal with a corporation to
exercise and require sound business ethics.
Where fraud is concerned, there is no silver bullet. Clearly, a book would help
to address the needs of three broad constituencies: management, corporate directors,
and auditors (internal and external). Just as clearly, it shouldn’t be a book
that focused only on concepts and facts. It would need to look at practice. It
would have to convey effective working attitudes and realistic perspectives on
many issues, from the varied skills required of forensic accounting investigators
to working with attorneys and reporting findings.
THOMAS W. GOLDEN, STEVEN L. SKALAK, AND MONA M. CLAYTON - Personal Name
ISBN-10: 0-471-46907
NONE
Accounting
English
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
2006
New Jersey
1-565
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