Successful forensic accountant traits. Forensic accountants typically require skill sets beyond that of general accounts, including experience as a financial auditor, training in forensic examination procedures, knowledge of civil and criminal law, ability to draw inferences from documents, intuition to logically analyze information, ability to think like a criminal, aggressive personality, self-confidence, curiosity, ability to communicate effectively, ability to maintain a high degree of professional skepticism, ability to report the results of an examination accurately and completely, information technology skills and tenacity.
Successful Forensic Accountant Traits
Relevant expertise includes in-depth knowledge of financial statements and the ability to critically analyze and evaluate the design and effectiveness of internal control systems, proficiency in computers and knowledge of network systems, a solid understanding of fraud schemes, including misappropriation of assets, financial reporting fraud, and corruption, thorough knowledge of the company’s governance policies and the laws that regulate corporate business activities, knowledge of psychology behind criminal behavior and to develop fraud prevention programs that motivate and encourage employees to do the right things and solid understanding of criminal and civil laws as well as the workings of the legal system.
Analytical And Detail Oriented
Analysts are required for forensic accountants. They must analyze the validity of each transaction and determine if the company recorded the transaction fairly as they review financial reports and source documents. The documentation may not always support the numbers on the reports. The forensic accountant must investigate where the numbers on the reports came from and whether the company reported them accurately.
A forensic accountant must be meticulous. Examining financial reports and supporting documents necessitates the examination of large amounts of data. The numbers from the supporting documents must match the numbers on the financial reports at each step. The forensic accountant must compare these figures and note any discrepancies. This necessitates gathering detailed information for each transaction and devoting time to comparing the details to the final totals.
5 Key Traits Of Forensic Accountants
Attention To Detail
Tech Savvy
Integrity
Patience
Problem-Solving Skills
In order to uncover financial crimes such as money laundering, embezzlement, tax fraud, and more, forensic accounting combines the profession with forensics. Students interested in this field should be aware of the typical characteristics of a forensic accountant. Students who exhibit these characteristics are likely to succeed as forensic accountants in the future.
Final Thoughts
What it takes to be a successful forensic accountant has long been a source of contention. Some swear by a strong educational background, while others argue that long-term experience is everything. However, the vast majority appear to agree that working as a forensic accountant would be nearly impossible without a very specific set of personal traits and characteristics.
Forensic accounting is such a specialized area of accounting that practitioners must have certain core and enhanced skills, as well as some critical characteristics. While a characteristic is a distinguishing feature or quality that an individual possesses, a skill is an ability that an individual possesses that stems from the individual’s knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc. and allows them to do something well.
