Forensic accounts, also known as investigative or forensic auditors, specialise in giving expert evidence at a trial or leading up to one.
Whether you’re not sure if you need a forensic accountant or are looking into getting a forensic accountant for business or personal reasons, Mizael Partners can guide you in the right direction.
Learn more about how a forensic accountant can help you and when you may engage one.
What is a forensic accountant?
Forensic accountants bring a unique blend of experience and education to accounting. Combining financial analysis and investigative skills, their main responsibility is to assist in financial investigations and provide a credible analysis that will hold up in court or mediation.
Regularly hired by insurers, attorneys, creditors and companies to investigate ongoing accounting cases or to calculate financial and economic damages, they can help to uncover a range of issues. Their analyses typically involve a written report, but also may require an expert witness testimony in a range of settings.
When would you benefit from hiring a forensic accountant?
Forensic accountants have expertise that is relied upon in an array of situations, including:
- Commercial damages: one of the most common requests for a forensic accountant is to provide expert witnesses on lost profits or unjust enrichments. Providing litigation support for disputes involving fraud, breach of contract, wrongful competition or intellectual property infringement, forensic accountants are trained to deal with complex matters.
- Personal unjust claims: forensic accountants are responsible for investigating an injured party’s economic or financial damages that may have resulted in loss of earning or household services.
- Business or employee fraud: this may involve tracing funds, identifying assets and recovery.
- Partnership or shareholder dispositions: a detailed analysis will be required to identify, trace and quantify the benefits, distributions or compensation received by partners or shareholders.
- Matrimonial disputes: if a forensic accountant is required, they will usually trace and value assets to ensure an equitable division of funds for divorcing parties or to determine child support.
- Commercial insurance claims: after carefully reviewing the policy in place, a forensic accountant must investigate coverage issues and a method for calculating loss. They may be hired by the insurance company or insured depending on the case.
What should you look for when hiring a forensic accountant?
Forensic accounting is a speciality area of practice in accounting and requires a specific set of skills to carry out a thorough job. When hiring a forensic accountant, you’ll want to look for one that specialises in a specific project. Many forensic accountants work for a range of clients and on an array of cases.
Contact Mizael Partners today
Mizael Partners has been providing services in forensic accounting since 2007 and we specialise in ensuring your financial records accurately reflect the financial standing of your organisation. Doing our due diligence to ensure your statements and documents are compliant with Australian or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – you can trust the team at Mizael Partners.
Call 0466 228 000 today and speak with one of our forensic accountants today.