...There are endless opportunities for Accountants in several different industries. With the need for Accountants on the rise, several industries have accounting positions that need to be filled. The two industries that I researched were Criminal Justice and Environment. The first industry that I researched was Criminal Justice. This industry interested me because I watch TV shows and movies that are all about catching criminals. Looking for suspicious transactions of a criminal to help police catch the individual would also be very interesting. The main job title that an Accountant could hold in this industry is a Forensic Accountant. One job duty that a Forensic Accountant would have to do is search through financial reports, bank statements,...
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...murder take the first seat on America’s top crime list, one is gaining awareness at an increasing rate-white collar crime. Enter in Forensic Accounting. Thanks to popular TV shows like CSI, Bones and Criminal Minds, when people hear the term “forensic” they often think of the forensics that’s involved in the investigations of crime scenes. While that is true, forensic really refers to any investigation methods or techniques that produce results that a court of law will accept as evidence. That is why forensic accounting is a great career option. According to Kreuter (2017), “Forensic accounting is essentially litigation support involving accounting” (p. 6-8). Forensic accountants use their accounting skills to examine financial information and documents for use in legal cases to investigate fraud or embezzlement. The job requires technical skills in accounting, both investigative and legal. Forensic accounting is important because it represents the only truthful approach to gaining a deeper understanding on what exactly is going on behind the scenes of a business’s finances. There are four main types of forensic accounting services. The first and most popular is criminal investigation services. A lot of people would assume that the auditor would perform fraud or criminal investigations, but...
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...Careers Microcomputer Accounting II April 8, 2011 Find Out About Yourself I took the Career Interest Game. The three categories I selected were Conventional, Realistic, and Investigative which makes me CRI. My first choice was the Conventional otherwise known as “The Organizers.” I can relate to most of the list under the “Are You?” category. I am well organized, accurate, and efficient in most everything I set out to accomplish. I like things to be structured and organized. I always try to be polite but yet persistent in every task I pursue. I am practical and orderly and I like working with numbers. The methodical, thrifty and ambitious are probably the ones I do not agree pertain to me as a person. I agree with everything listed under the “Can You?” category since I do work with a lot of paperwork in a short period of time. My current position requires me to constantly work on a computer terminal and keep accurate records. I am also required to write business correspondence often and work in a team setting as well as individually. My job requires me to follow certain procedures and pay attention to detail. There is also a great deal of typing and data entry involved in my daily tasks. I also have to collect information and organize it in a specific manner. My work revolves around numbers and currency figures. The only thing on the list that I do not agree with is shorthand; I never took a class for it nor have I ever used it. Under the Conventional category...
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...Forensic Accounting in Practice Brittany Baskin Dr. John Theodore Contemporary Business November 18, 2012 When you think of the term forensics, what comes to mind? For younger readers CSI probably rings a bell, while the elder crowd would probably think of Quincy. Both TV shows glorified the acts of forensics in a medical sense. But a lesser-known form of forensics has been growing in use around the world. In light of recent accounting scandals throughout the world, investors and regulators have searched for various different methods to improve the safety of investors through more diligent accounting reporting practices. Until recently, detecting fraud was thought to be a part of the responsibility of the accountant. Fraud was something the internal or external auditors were expected to guard against by their periodic audits. We now know that auditors can only check for compliance of a company’s books to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) and to company policy; therefore, a new category of accounting had to be established, one which revealed the fraud for companies with suspected fraudulent transactions. This new area of accounting is known as forensic accounting. To fully understand the definition of forensic accounting, we can use parts of the definition of forensic medicine and accounting, both taken from Webster’s Dictionary, to produce a clear definition. Forensic medicine is a “science that deals with the relation and application...
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... and reporting the results. An accountant is one who is skilled in the practice of accounting or who is in charge of public or private accounts. (http://www.merriam-webster.com, n.d.) Someone who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting can pursue many different accounting career fields. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual wage for accountants and auditors was $63,550 in May 2012. Employment of accountants and auditors is projected to grow 13 percent from 2012 to 2022, about as fast as the average for all occupations. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.) Many start out in entry level accounting positions or they may take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination administered by the NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) to become a Certified Public Accountant. CPA’s must also complete certifications and educational requirements as required by their individual states. A CPA is capable of handling many job functions in accounting from auditing and reporting to tax preparations for corporations and individuals. A CPA also assists clients with other financial functions, including asset management, risk assessment, and internal reviews. A CPA may also choose to work for himself as a public accountant or by providing financial planning services. With the recent financial crisis and the many publicized fraud cases within companies the need for forensic accountants has emerged. Forensic accounting has become a growing...
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...Careers in Accounting Name Institutional Affiliation Question 1 A Forensic Accountant This is a specialized career in accounting, which focuses on investigating financial information to identify or detect existence of white-collar crimes in companies or organizations. It is the responsibility of a Forensic Accountant to analyze and investigate crimes such as bankruptcy, embezzlement, and fraud to provide evidence as to who, what, how, and where the financial crime occurred. A Forensic Accountant needs to integrate law knowledge and the understanding of accounting and finance. The career in Forensic Accounting is recently on high demand because of the increased financial inconsistencies within organizations. A Forensic Accountant finds employment opportunities in many settings, which include law firms, consulting firms, government agencies, and financial institutions (Justice, Law & Legal Studies Forensic Accountant and Fraud Examiner). A Budget Analyst A budget analyst is one of the career paths in accounting. This career involves the relationship between goals of the project and concerns of the budget. The work of the budget analyst is to organize business finances such as preparing budgets reports and checking organizational spending. Minimum requirements are a bachelor’s degree in accounting and in some cases, there is a requirement of a Master’s degree in accounting. Additional requirements include excellent numerical, analytical, and accounting...
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...Forensic Accounting The accounting profession as we know went through many changes as a result of scams such as the Enron and WorldCom. It came stated as a clear fact that since these scandals had unfortunately happened, it would create a new demand for forensic accountants. The Association of Certified Examiners said that occupational fraud losses cost organizations on the average of about a trillion dollars yearly. I feel with this being a known fact brings along the push for the services of these forensic accountants. Forensic accounting is a profession in which combines investigative skills with accounting, auditing, and consulting to conduct investigations. Investigations which involve forensic accountants range from embezzlement at small retail business to a widespread of government corruption. When companies are yearly losing about a trillion dollars to fraud losses I feel that is a main reason as to why there was an explosion in this field. With this explosion taking place of forensic accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) formed a committee called the Certified Financial Forensics (CFF) in which was planned to award 900 credentials by the end of 2008. In was said that by the end of 2009 the AICPA rewarded 3,500 CFF certifications. Through research and the readings, I think it is simple to say that no one ever wanted to see a repeat such as the Enron and WorldCom scams. I came to find that through the readings that the...
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...Bernard Mitchell Jr. Forensic Accounting Prof. Steffel May 23, 2013 The Forensic Accountant What is a forensic accountant? There are many attributes that are needed to be a forensic accountant. Bolgna and Linquist (1995) defined forensic accounting as the application of financial skills and an investigative mentality to unresolved issues, conducted within the context of the rules of evidence. In 2011, a definition in Accountancy Ireland, noted: “Forensic accounting has been defined as "the science of gathering and presenting financial information in a form that will be accepted by a court of jurisprudence against perpetrators of economic crimes". The field integrates accounting, auditing and investigative competences to detect and prevent financial irregularities in business. (Idowa, 2011). This is a growing field so the definition will grow continuously over time. There is a great deal of gathering information included in being a forensic accountant. The biggest skill is having above average skill when it comes to looking for details. Each detail has to be exact in order when being presented during a case. In order to be successful you have to have a drive that keeps you thirsting for the truth. Anytime that you have to go looking through documents and other financial information you have to pay close...
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...that I am considering is accounting. I decided I wanted to do accounting back when one of my cousins became an accountant. She ended up getting her CPA and a full time job at the place she interned at, which ultimately made me want to do the same. One path I thought about taking with this major is to be a forensic accountant. Before I became an accounting major, I was a criminal justice major, so getting into forensic accounting is something that I am very interested in. With this career, I would try and detect crimes, such as fraud, and would have the opportunity to work for government agencies or law firms. Being a forensic accountant is probably my first choice. Another field that I would be interested in is being a...
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...CAREER PAPER MUQRIN ALJHARI October 2, 2015 INTRODUCTION Accounting is popularly known as “language of business". Accountants are the practitioners of accounting, who can speak it better than anyone. It measures the results of a company’s economic activities and conveys this information to different users like creditors, investors, management, and regulators, etc. Accounting is the body of knowledge, which is primarily concerned with methods for recording transactions, keeping financial records, performing internal audits, reporting and analysing financial information to the management, and advising on taxation matters. In short, it is a systematic process of identifying, recording, measuring, classifying, verifying, summarizing, interpreting and communicating financial information. It reveals profit or loss for a given period, and the value and nature of a firm's assets, liabilities and owners' equity. Accounting provides information on the resources available to a firm, the means employed to finance those resources, and also the results achieved through their use. ACCOUNTING CAREERS Choosing the field of accounting as a career path is a smart decision. This field will always be in demand. This field can help you to grow continuously and help you move up inside your organization. A lot of different positions are available in the field of accounting. Accounting careers can range from entry level positions to executive level positions. Some of the popular careers in...
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...Career Opportunities in Accounting Christopher Trahan Accounting 100 Michael Kapral December 10, 2014 “Accounting consists of three basics activities, it identifies, records, and communicates the economics events of an organization to interested users.” (Weygandt, 2013, p. 4). The primary function of accounting is to record business transactions and provide financial reports for a variety of different business processes. There are many duties that fall under the accounting umbrella and many different career options available if accounting is the chosen field. Public accountants is one of the broadest fields that provide accounting, tax auditing and consulting services to a government corporation, nonprofits, and individuals. Many public accountants are Certified Public Accountants (CPA). They handle a broad range of duties from filling taxes for individuals and corporations in financial planning services. CPA duties are regulated under the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). “AICPA sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit organizations, federal, state and local governments.”(2014, November 30). They perform financial planning services for either an individual or a corporation, assist clients with a number of financial functions, including public accounting, assessment management, and tax planning services, risk assessment and management, financial compliance and performing...
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...Using Teams In production and Operation Management Five Skills a Forensic Accountant Need to Possess Determine the most important Five Skills that a Forensic Accountant Needs to Possess. The down slope in the economy has driven a new demand of accountants in the job market. The economy is at all-time low so the government is scrutinizing and penalizing businesses for inappropriate accounting scandals. Recent incidents of fraud have been noted in the media weekly. The new field of accountants has companies like Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom to thank for their new demand. The employees of these companies have plot, planned and manipulated the system. They have used schemes like the Ponzi schemes, embezzlement, false advertising, and Spanish prisoners. Fraud Investigators go beyond just criminal charges in court they are also used in family court. They use their skills when couples are getting a divorce; martial fraud is used when spouses don’t show all their assets. (Marden and Darner, 2006) The mystic new field forensic accountants are called in to investigate businesses for white collar crimes. Forensic accountant’s job is to investigate business fraud, incorrect financial reporting, and illegal investment schemes. Professionals interested in obtaining a job in forensic accounting have to process the following skills: Effective written/oral communication skills, strategic critical thinking, financial knowledge and background, and leadership skills, professional and ethical...
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...Running head: Forensic accountant 1 Forensic Accountant Tanya Pace Dr. Gina Zaffino Bus 508, Contemporary Business 11/16/2012 Running head: Forensic Accountant 2 Determine the most important five (5) skills that a forensic accountant needs to possess and evaluate the need for each skill. Be sure to include discussion regarding the relationship between the skill and its application to business operations. Although forensic accounting is not a new field, it has become more talked about since cases like Enron came to light. For someone interested in the Forensic Accountant profession they should know that this field can be time consuming, but very rewarding. People who work in this career investigate white collar crimes such as company fraud, fraudulent financial record reporting, and illegal investment schemes. In a recent study by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that white collar crimes have cost the United States and estimated 300 billion dollars (DiGabriele 2008). I think five of the skills that a forensic account would need are communication skills, detail oriented, professional and ethical behavior, sound judgment and discretion. Communication skills are vital in any profession. It allows you to convey information for others to receive. The problem with communication is that it can be interpreted differently by other intended parties. As a forensic accountant, communication skills, verbal and non verbal, are important...
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...AN OVERVIEW OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING IN MALAYSIA Mohd Sarif Ibrahim and Mazni Abdullah Department of Financial Accounting & Auditing Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia sarif51@um.edu.my, mazni@um.edu.my ABSTRACT Forensic accounting may not be a new field in accounting. However it becomes so important recently and has been an interest to various stakeholders, from the government, investors, and practitioners to regulatory bodies. Corporate failures like the often cited Enron and WorldCom cases have placed forensic accounting into the limelight. The objective of this study is to present the views of practitioners regarding forensic accounting and its current development in Malaysia. For the purpose of this study, practitioners from the big and medium accounting firms and regulatory bodies in Malaysia were interviewed regarding the subject matter and unstructured interviews were used in the study. Keyword: Forensic Accounting, Auditing and Investigation. INTRODUCTION Corporate financial scandals like the often cited Enron and WorldCom cases of the last few years is a wake-up call to the accounting profession and has rejuvenated the interest in forensic accounting. Increasing government regulations and pressures from other stakeholders has made businesses acutely aware of the consequences of employees’ misdeeds and inadequate internal controls. Companies are now beginning to be more determined than ever to ensure...
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...of numbers. If you want to be an accountant, it is no big surprise that you should have a knack for numbers. According to Taylor (2010), as a certified public accountant, or CPA, you will be in charged of reviewing and analyzing the financial information of clients’ companies for auditing, taxpaying, or advisory purposes. The diversity of the accounting profession makes it easier for accounting graduates to find and fill a job. Accounting graduates will not run out of job opportunity. In fact, accounting graduates have many opportunities in the job market such as as accountants, budget analysts, forensic accountants and auditors. First, the most popular job opportunity for accounting graduates is as accountants. Accountants check financial accounts. They can work in the private or government sector. Their scope of work includes working in accounts payable, receivable or general ledger. They also perform reconciliations and analysis. This profession can be divided into three major fields. The first field is public accountants who focus on auditing and tax functions. The second field is management accountants. They work in companies and contribute to decisions making on capital budgeting and business analysis. The last field is financial accountants. The information from general ledgers will be drawn by them to prepare financial statements. Nguyen (2011) states that financial accountants are generally more active than the typical accountants. They get to travel a lot and are...
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