Forensic auditing courses teach the aspirants to investigate financial statement frauds. Forensic Auditing is an exciting career option for the students who go beyond numbers (see this link). The forensic auditors are termed as blood hounds of accounting. This article summarizes the most common types of forensic auditing courses and programs. It also provides information on certification programs on the subject of forensic audit. Certified Forensic Accounting Professional (CFAP) is one of the most popular certifications to be a forensic auditor. This certification is offered by NSE Academy (Wholly owned subsidiary of National Stock Exchange of India Limited) in association with Indiaforensic Center of Studies.
CFAP provides an understanding of a forensic auditor’s role in assisting law enforcement agencies. This course provide the framework of addressing the challenges related to frauds and producing the evidences in the court of laws.
Forensic Auditors combine their auditing knowledge with investigative skills. This course is based on the Students Handbook on Forensic Accounting.
In 2003, India’s leading forensic auditor Mayur Joshi, refined the term forensic audit. In his paper, he added technology as the skill set of forensic auditors. He is termed as the pioneer of forensic auditing in India. In 2006, Association of Certified Frauds Examiners (ACFE) in USA recognized his efforts and conferred upon him Outstanding Performance Award. He is the only Indian to win the award from ACFE.
Litigation support and investigative accounting are the two major areas of work for forensic auditors. Most of the professionals who complete the certification work in one of these two areas. They do the forensic accounting practice or may be employed by public accounting firms.
Some of the Certified Forensic Accounting Professionals are also seen to be working with the lawyers, law enforcement agencies, insurance companies, government organizations, or financial institutions.
Students are able to explore and perfect their skills to enable them to complete comprehensive forensic audits. It will touch upon topics like evidence gathering and interviewing techniques. It will teach students about other important areas such as dealing with information sources and on how to trace illegal transactions effectively.
The syllabus will also review occupational frauds and abuse. This encapsulates areas such as fraudulent statements and asset misuse. There will also be an area about corruption. Students will be able to take a look at actual case studies when learning.
The course stands out because it emphasize more on the practical aspects of the forensic accounting.
It speaks about the changing legal framework in India while commenting on the classification of the frauds done by and for the business entities.
More information about certifications can be viewed here.