Oral presentations are very important for forensic accountants. b There
will be many times where your discussions and meetings are held face to
face during the course of an engagement. b Verbal skills become an
important asset as you must be able to clearly express and explain
important findings, requests, and reports. When a client as for an oral
report, you must consider the risks involved in doing so such as the lack
of back up documentation and the potential for the client to
misunderstand the information being given. b One situation where an oral
report would be given instead of a written one would be in the
examination and testimony of a witness while in mitigation or in court. b
The saving grace for the oral reports is that there is usually a
stenographer who records the entire conversation so that anyone can
refer back to what was said as factual.
Oral reports are provided to the client when they are requested. b There
are usually discussions or updates before the final report with the client
and or attorney. b During these conversations, the client may provide
further insight into what specific information the client is looking for. b
Several risks associated with an oral report are a misinterpretation of the
information provided where the client may have selective hearing or
memory, or in cases where there may be litigation, a jury may believe
there was not a full investigation, allowing opportunity to leave out or hide
information. b If a client were to request an oral report, I would want to
make sure the client speaks to their attorney prior to their final decision. b
Regardless I would provide a summary of what was discussed touching
upon the major factors of the oral report. b The work I did would be the
same regardless of the type report provided, therefore leaving detailed
information on the work I’ve completed and how I came to the
conclusions. b This will help should I need to refer back to the
documentation later. b (Rosenberg, 2010)
References
Rosenberg, J. A. (2010, July 3). WRITTEN REPORT? ORAL REPORT?
WHAT'S AN INVESTIGATOR TO DO? Retrieved from California
Association of Workplace Investigators:
http://judithrosenberg.com/articles/caowi_1_3.html
