Forensic Accounting Services: AICPA Standards, Engagement Considerations, Analyzing Data, Expert Witness Testimony

Description

There is a multitude of diverse areas where a client may need forensic accounting or consulting services. Accounting professionals are uniquely tailored to assist with these. Marital disputes, business dissolutions, and fraud detection are only a few areas that require collecting, analyzing, and reporting on an evidentiary matter. Forensic accounting and litigation services require a particular set of skills and likewise have unique rules and guidelines that need to be understood to provide these services effectively. No two forensic engagements are the same, yet most firms will be called upon to provide these services.

The AICPA recently issued the Statement on Standards for Forensic Services No. 1 (SSFS 1) defining litigation and investigation services, prohibiting agreed-upon procedures in certain circumstances, and codifying authoritative guidance for CPAs providing these services. Accumulating, preparing, and analyzing relevant documents can require a significant outlay of time. Once gathered, there is a specific methodology that must be used so that the evidence collected can survive a Daubert challenge. Expert witnesses also must be familiar with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Practitioners need to understand the caveats of providing these services.

Listen as our panel of forensic experts covers the broad scope of this work from the engagement letter to expert testimony. These are complex multi-faceted arrangements that are challenging, but often lucrative and rewarding.