subject: What Is The Role Of The Investigative Accountant In Financial Crime? [print this page] Business crime is growing year on year. This is happening as businesses themselves are growing by expansion and merger. As the targets get bigger, so the losses to the fraudster increase, with some global concerns losing many millions. The bigger and more complex a business is, the greater need for adequate fraud prevention controls.
Any business that is successefully getting bigger is most likely managed by some very capable people who have extensive and diverse business skills. With enough resouces they can work together to develop the business quickly. They grow by acquisition and develop into a world wide entity. Frequently some attention is given to extra business risk, even of fraud, faced as size increases and control becomes spread over a larger area of business.
However, it is impossible to protect a business one hundred percent from the fraudster, and a growing business will present numerous opportunities for theft. There are high odds that one or more of these opportunities will be overlooked by the management as the business develops. It is unlikely that they will be missed by the fraudster who is always on the lookout for a way in.
Like the fraudster, the forensic accountant specialising in fraud spends all his time thinking about the mechanics of fraud and the different ways money can be taken from a business without the business being aware, at least for as long as it takes to steal a substantial sum. This is why forensic accountancy is a key resource for a global business wishing to either improve its defences or to deal with a fraud once it has occurred.
An investigative accountant will review the whole concern, regardless of how spread out it has become, and develop a feel for the risks involved. Then the fraud specialist can home in on those areas and propose methods of generally improving security, often at very little expense or by using resources already employed by the organisation.
Even though much attention might be paid to anti fraud controls, a criminal can still attack and seek out new ways to defraud. In this case the forensic accounting resources are able to understand the fraudsters mind, how he was able to find the holes in the corporate armour. Only then can the losses be stopped and there is a better chance of recovering them through the courts.
by: Mark Jenner
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