What Is Involved In A Forensic Audit

By Rena Hudson


There are instances when fraud, money laundering and other financial malpractices may be suspected in an organization. This will normally necessitate the carrying out a forensic audit. This is done to determine if the suspected occurrence actually took place. If it is evident that there were such happening, the aggrieved party can then produce the evidence from the audit process for the prosecution of the culprits in a court of law.

This process is undertaken by a trained professional referred to as forensic auditor. This is a trained accountant with skills in criminology and prosecution of fraud. In various countries, accountants are required to be registered with the accounting bodies in the regions and therefore forensic auditors are no exception to this.

Modern day forensic auditing makes use of various software programs. These programs are designed with SQL systems and are linked to various data mining applications. Considered fast and time saving, it is generated from the traditional method where manual auditing used to be time consuming. They are therefore ideal in evaluating the various accounting modalities used and also finding out those areas where there are loopholes that could be used in fraud.

To conduct an efficient audit, various documents and transaction records are necessary. To start the process these, records have to therefore be identified and collected. With these at hand, relationships between various transactions are then identified and evaluated. This is done to seek any discrepancies in the records and point out any fraudulent actions that might have taken place during their recording. Any malpractices found out are then used as evidence in the courts to confirm the fraud.

Forensic auditing can also be requested in a divorce case. The party applying for divorce may therefore request the court for this. This occurs when either or both of the parties give inadequate information regarding their assets or financial status. The auditing is therefore necessary in disclosing the true asset value held by either party hence giving room for fair settlement. It is also used in determining the ideal child and spouse support schemes.

Companies can also request for a forensic auditing on their employees. This is in situations where the employees are suspected to have engaged in fraudulent deals aimed at embezzling funds from the company. The directors of the company or the management are the ones that can order such on the workers of fellow colleagues. The results of the audit are then used in courts of law as evidence to press criminal charges against the culprits. If there is enough proof in such cases, the courts rule will involve refunding of the embezzled funds.

Fraud is a normal occurrence in both public and private sectors. This may be in form of bribes or money laundering with the intent to receive favors. The individuals suspected of involvement in such deals are normally taken through an audit to determine the truth of the matter. Evidence gathered in such instances is then presented before court when pressing for criminal charges.

A forensic audit is conducted by both private and public auditors. The private auditors charge fees for their services according to the complexity of the case in question. Public auditors on the other hand are appointed by courts to carry out investigations on its behalf.




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