It would be very important for the forensic accountant chosen to
represent the land development company to be independent and free
from conflicts of interest. a The next important requirement would be for
the accountant to have some demonstrated knowledge in the field of
land valuation and how to calculate a loss on this land. According to
section 102, in the AICPA, knowledge of professional standards
methodologies, the technical subject matter involved, and the capacity
to use that knowledge in the delivery of professional services can be
defined as competence (ET. Sec. 201.2).
This might impact the forensic accountant's ability to obtain sufficient
evidence or data to support his or her opinion because while the
accountant may have strong knowledge in the area of land valuation,
he or she would be best served in gathering the findings of a land
surveyor who is an expert in that field. The issue with having to
outsource this type of data is that the forensic accountant loses some
control and it would be harder to verify that the surveyor is objective
and free of conflicts.
While the article, entitled, "My Journey as a Forensic Accountant,"
begins by discussing how this individual entered the industry, the
second part of the article, "The Customer (or client) is Not Always
Right," applies more to our discussion. This portion of the article,
discusses integrity, objectivity, and independence.
References:
https://us.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/research/standards/codeofcond
uct/downloadabledocuments/2013june1codeofprofessionalconduct.pdf
