According to the survey conducted by Charles Davis, Ramona Farrell and Suzanne Ogilby, the top
five characteristics/traits that it is important for a forensic accountant to possess are:
Analytical
Detail-oriented
Ethical
Responsive
Insightful
Additionally, the survey showed that the top five core skills that a forensic accountant should have are:
Being an effective oral communicator
Being able to simplify the information given to them
Is a critical/strategic thinker
Able to identify key issues
Effective auditing skills.
I think working as a forensic accounting in the banking industry would be exciting. Ive always been
drawn to banking. Being able to help prevent fraud and perform risk analysis and auditing a banks
control seems like something I would like to do.
In the textbook, they discussion a forensic accounting needing good critical thinking, reasoning or
problem-solving skills, and good communication (Rufus et al, 2015). In the additional reading they
discuss being analytical, detail oriented and ethical as traits for a forensic accountant stated by
attorneys (Davis et al, n.d.). Academics also feel analytical and ethical are important but also rated
highly are skepticism, persistent and inquisitive as essential traits (Davis et al, n.d.). CPA's feel that
analytical is important but put inquisitive higher than detail oriented and ethical (Davis et al, n.d.).
From my short time working in accounting, I think all of these and so many more would be important
for the forensic aspect of the job. I have always loved a mystery or puzzle, trying to figure something
out is almost calming to me. That is one of the biggest draws for me in this line of profession. I also
feel that I am both analytical and detail oriented and that it would assist me in this career path. When I
interviewed for my current position, staff accountant, they asked why I was continuing my education
towards forensic. My answer is the same as it has been since I started this journey, I like to ask why. I
would drive people nuts asking for background on things in my previous career (pharmacy technician
for a cancer center and hospital). I had a healthy amount of skepticism because I had seen pharmacists
dose meds incorrectly and I had to be detail oriented to mix chemotherapy correctly. But what made
me very good at my position was that I asked why are we giving this dose? why are we giving this
drug? I was able to catch errors that the pharmacists had overlooked. I felt that these traits would serve
me well as a forensic accountant also. I also learned to be thick skinned because not all pharmacists
were okay with a lowly technician questioning them. If it saved someone's life, I figured I could hurt a
few feelings along the way.
To be a successful forensic accountant, you must possess three skills: critical thinking, reasoning, and
communication. Critical thinking is defined many ways. One way to define it is by saying critical
thinking is when individuals use their judgement from observations and develop conclusions from it to
solve a problem. Critical thinking is important in forensic accounting because you need to look at the
data and draw scientific conclusions from it. Reasoning involves developing conclusions from facts.
You must understand what is going on with behaviours and events. The last skill is communication.
Communication is needed so that you can articulate your findings to your audience. Your audience
could be your client, a judge or jury. The communication must be simple so that everyone can
understand your findings.
I have always been interested in forensic accounting. I like analysing data to determine what occurred.
I have my enrolled agent certification, so I would be interested in being a Tax Compliance Officer,
Internal Revenue Agent, or Criminal Investigator. z z
Rufus, Miller, & Hahn refer to forensic accountants as researchers and problem solvers. There are
many characteristics/skills needed to be a successful forensic accountant. The first is curiosity.
Forensic accountants need to be able to look beyond the issue at hand and try to find the “why” behind
it. Forensic accountants also need critical thinking and reasoning skills. Reasoning can be deductive
(drawing a logical conclusion) or inductive (drawing conclusions from patterns). Additionally,
forensic accountants need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively. Simple things like tone of
voice can have a big impact in a courtroom (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015).
I would love to eventually work forensic accounting for a law enforcement agency. I find fraud
detection (an investigative service) and financial crimes fascinating. I can see myself pursuing a career
as a forensic analyst or fraud investigator.
To be a successful forensic accountant you must have the following traits; critical thinking, reasoning,
and communication (Rufus, 2015). Critical thinking allows the accountants to looks beyond the
numbers and conventional processes to detect and prevent fraud. Reasoning allows the forensic
accountant to view the fraudulent activity from the perpetrator’s perspective to better understand the
case. Communication is also important as a forensic accountant because the facts of the case must be
conveyed in a fashion that parties without an accounting background can understand. Another
characteristic I find important is ethics (Davis). Ethics is important across the entire accounting field,
not just in forensics. As any type of accountant, you are required to comply with the laws that govern
their work. Participating in unethical behaviours as a forensic accounting can seriously damage or ruin
your reputation.
My personal favourite portion of the forensic accounting field would have to be interrogation
interviews. I believe these interviews are exhilarating because often the perpetrator does not hold up
well under pressure. The confessions are usually very dramatic to watch. I am also interested in
learning how to facilitate one of these interviews.
References
Davis, C., Farrell, R., & Ogilby, S. (n.d.). Characteristics and Skills of the Forensic Accountant.
Wayback Machine.
Rufus, R. J., Miller, L. S., & Hahn, W. (2015). Forensic accounting. Pearson Education
Davis, C., Farrell, R., & Ogilby, S. (n.d.). Characteristics and Skills of the Forensic Accountant.
AICPA. Retrieved
https://web.archive.org/web/20170328231005/https://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/ForensicAndValua
tion/Resources/PractAidsGuidance/DownloadableDocuments/ForensicAccountingResearchWhitePap
er.pdf
Rufus, R., Miller, L., & Hahn, W. (2015). Forensic accounting. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education.
Davis, C., Farrell, R., & Ogilby, S. (n.d.). Characteristics and Skills of the Forensic Accountant.
AICPA.
