A successful forensic accountant should have the following skills: critical thinking, reasoning, and
communication (Rufus et al, 2015). Critical thinking involves questioning assumptions and
exercising judgement based on knowledge gained from previous experiences and observations.
Reasoning involves drawing inferences and conclusions based on the known/assumed facts. Using
reasoning allows a forensic accountant to understand a behaviour or event. The third skill,
communication refers to a forensic accountant’s ability to communicate results. Forensic
accountants should have the ability to explain information or results in a way that someone with no
knowledge or accounting could understand. This is because forensic accountants can be used as
expert witnesses in trials and need to be able to communicate their findings to the judge/jury in a
way they can understand. Depending on who you ask, there are other skills a forensic accountant
should possess including their investigative ability, ability to identify key issues, auditing skills,
investigative intuitiveness, an ability to see the big picture, etc. (Davis et al).
Forensic accounting in general is something I would really enjoy doing in the future, but I believe
I would enjoy being a forensic analyst with the FBI. I grew up watching crime shows and
mysteries so the idea of trying to figure out if a crime was committed and how has always sounded
cool. Additionally, my first accounting professor had a student go on to work as a forensic
accountant for the FBI and was able to make the arrest after spending over a year trying to
determine how this person was committing the crime. That story was what showed me there were
more areas of accounting than just writing the books and what got me interested in earning my
degree in accounting.
Forensic accountants will exhibit three fundamental skills: critical thinking, reasoning, and
communication (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, p. 8, 2014). Critical thinking is necessary in forensic
accounting because it introduces not only curiosity but pairs that with skepticism. Reasoning helps
forensic accountants decode and identify patterns, analyze evidence found, and use this information to
draw conclusions (Rufus, et. al., p. 11, 2014). Communication, while important in every job or career,
is especially important for forensic accountants. It is easy to talk with colleagues, as you know the
same lingo and jargon that are commonly used. However, as a forensic accountant, information needs
to be communicated to many different parties, in terms that are broadly and easily understood.
Forensic accountants must also work with many different types of people, from all different walks of
life, good communication both oral and written is key.
While the aspect of accounting and auditing has always drawn me in, forensic accounting caught my
eye and grabbed my attention. I have been good with numbers, and have a great memory with
patterns; it is no surprise this field draws me in. The only part that I have trouble with, no matter how
much experience I have had, is interviewing and the likes. I have never been one to be able to
smoothly talk on the spot, so that would be a challenge for me in the field. However, the analytical
part, finding patterns and uncovering mistakes or fraud is something I would thoroughly enjoy. I have
looked forward to this course for a while, and cannot wait to dive deeper into this education journey.
There are some key characteristics and skills that are needed in order for a person to be a
successful forensic accountant. Critical thinking is among the top skills that a forensic accountant
needs to have. It takes a lot to be able to think outside the box and to think on different levels.
Unstructured problem solving is a very big task to fill. It takes a very special intelligent, smart, and
dedicated person to fill these shoes. Oral communication is very huge, when it comes to being an
accountant because they always have to communicate with investors, owners, employees, and etc.
they mut be able to communicate effectively, honestly, and precisely. Their opinion matters when
it comes to their findings and auditing businesses. Written communication is also essential because
an accountant must know how to properly write down their findings and give appropriate, honest,
and unbiased opinions. The are of accounting that is most interesting to me is the forensic part. I
have worked in law enforcement for many years and I had to write reports, do investigations, and
conduct oral interviews. I loved this part of my job. I hope to find a job as an accountant and
maybe incorporate some of those skills into that new career.
There are three essential characteristics or skills needed to be successful as a forensic accountant
which includes critical thinking, reasoning, and communication (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015).
First, critical thinking is essential because the process of a critical thinker allows for effective
investigations and reduces the chance for biases. In addition, critical thinking attributes to
consideration of all known evidence, allows for proper consideration of evidence, context, and
methodologies, and self-awareness, and persistence (Rufus et al, 2015). Secondly, reasoning
includes deductive, inductive, and intuitive reasoning because forensic accounting is evidence-
based and requires conclusions (Rufus et al, 2015). The logicalness of deductive reasoning allows
for valid conclusions through the identification of two or more general assumptions and applies
accepted truths to specific scenarios (Rufus et al, 2015). Yet, inductive reasoning uses patterns
through observations to draw a conclusion. This provides forensic accountants the ability to deal
with probabilities and meet the legal concept of “standard of proof” (Rufus et al, 2015).
Additionally, intuitive reasoning provides an individual the ability to understand others. This
characteristic needs to be used cautionary due the nature of the characteristic relying on personal
bias and misconceptions can easily occur (Rufus et al, 2015). Finally, communication is essential
to provide accurate and precise representations of the forensic accountant’s findings for each
scenario (Rufus et al, 2015). In many cases the information being conveyed by forensic
accountants is to individuals that are not necessarily knowledgeable in the area. Meanwhile, the
expert opinion must be stated in a legally sufficient manner and based on reliable data, facts, and
methodology (Rufus et al, 2015).
The career field that most interests me, currently, because of the path that I am on with my current
job. As a CPA, positions that a forensic accountant knowledge plays a role in are External
Auditor, Valuation Analyst, Expert Witness, Consulting Expert, and Fraud Investigator (Rufus et
al, 2015). With each of these positions the characteristics and skills discussed above provide an
individual with a strong foundation to server in each unique scenario that occurs. In addition, life
experiences aid in the development of these skills which I have experienced over the last ten years
while working under a CPA. Once I become proficient in one area my boss starts adding more
information and investigative tasks which allows me to incorporate critical thinking and reasoning
skills.References:
Rufus, R. J., Miller, L. S., & Hahn, W. (2015). Forensic accounting. Boston, MA:Pearson.
There are three key skills that must be satisfied for one to be a successful forensic accountant.
Those skills include critical thinking, reasoning, and communication (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn,
2015). By forensic accountants possessing critical thinking skills, they are able to be rational and
consider evidence in an unbiased manner, be skeptical, which allows them proper consideration of
evidence, and most importantly, be self-aware as to not let their own feelings change the course of
making the right decisions (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015). Secondly, reasoning allows for one to
draw conclusions based on the facts that are presented to them. There are two types of reasoning:
deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. While our text also discussed intuitive reasoning as
being used, one must proceed with caution because intuitive reasoning is more about feelings and
less about information (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015). Deductive reasoning is drawing conclusions
based on premises generally assumed to be true (Indeed, 2022). For example, if one says that a
trunk of a car is large, and a bike does not fit into it, then you may also deduce that the bike is also
large. Inductive reasoning, simply put, draws conclusions from patterns (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn,
2015). An example of this could be when autumn comes, leaves change colours and fall to the
ground. Therefore, we can conclude that this will take place every year because autumn is one of
the seasons that comes every year. The last skill, and probably the most important in my opinion,
is communication. A forensic accountant must be skilled in written and oral communication.
Sometimes, a forensic accountant must report their findings and research to a judge or jury.
Therefore, they must make sure their reports of the facts are “clear, concise, and grammatically
correct” to bring the knowledge gap between the expert and the audience to a close.
As stated above, I would like to go down the career path of a CPA by becoming an auditor. In our
text, an external auditor, along with valuation analysts, expert witness, consulting expert, and
fraud investigator are all careers that can be obtained with forensic accounting skills (Rufus,
Miller, & Hahn, 2015). For example, as an external auditor one must possess professional
skepticism just like a forensic accountant because you are reviewing and analyzing a company’s
process and procedures and the management’s assertion must be proven.
References
Indeed. (2022, August 17). Deductive Reasoning: Definition, Types and Examples. Retrieved from
Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/deductive-reasoning
Rufus, R., Miller, L., & Hahn, W. (2015). Forensic Accounting. Boston: Pearson
Rufus, R., Miller, L., & Hahn, W. (2014). Forensic Accounting, US Edition. Pearson.
Davis, Charles, Farrell, Ramona, Ogilby, Suzanne. Characteristics and Skills of the Forensic
Accountant.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170328231005/https://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/ForensicAndV
aluation/Resources/PractAidsGuidance/DownloadableDocuments/ForensicAccountingResearchWh
itePaper.pdf
Rufus, R.J., Miller, L. S., & Hahn, W. (2015). Forensic Accounting. Pearson Education.
