technical student accountANT

page 58 SEPTEMBER 2008

FORENSIC AUDITING
RELEVANT TO ACCA QUALIFICATION PAPER P7
Forensic auditing was one of the new areas to be added to the Paper P7 syllabus when the ACCA
Qualification was launched (see Study Guide, syllabus reference D6). This article explores some of the
issues relevant to forensic investigations.

‘Forensic auditing’ covers a broad spectrum of fraudulent activity. The investigation is likely to whether the fraud involved collusion between
activities, with terminology not strictly defined in be similar in many ways to an audit of financial several suspects
regulatory guidance. Generally, the term ‘forensic information, in that it will include a planning any physical evidence at the scene of the
accounting’ is used to describe the wide range of stage, a period when evidence is gathered, a crime or contained in documents
investigative work which accountants in practice review process, and a report to the client. The comments made by the suspect during
could be asked to perform. The work would purpose of the investigation, in the case of an interviews and/or at the time of arrest
normally involve an investigation into the financial alleged fraud, would be to discover if a fraud had attempts to destroy evidence.
affairs of an entity and is often associated with actually taken place, to identify those involved,
investigations into alleged fraudulent activity. to quantify the monetary amount of the fraud TYPES OF INVESTIGATION
Forensic accounting refers to the whole process (ie the financial loss suffered by the client), and The forensic accountant could be asked to
of investigating a financial matter, including to ultimately present findings to the client and investigate many different types of fraud. It
potentially acting as an expert witness if the fraud potentially to court. is useful to categorise these types into three
comes to trial. Although this article focuses on Finally, ‘forensic auditing’ refers to the groups to provide an overview of the wide range
investigations into alleged frauds, it is important specific procedures carried out in order to of investigations that could be carried out. The
to be aware that forensic accountants could be produce evidence. Audit techniques are used three categories of frauds are corruption, asset
asked to look into non-fraud situations, such as to identify and to gather evidence to prove, for misappropriation and financial statement fraud.
the settling of monetary disputes in relation to a example, how long the fraud has been carried
business closure or matrimonial disputes under out, and how it was conducted and concealed Corruption
insurance claims. by the perpetrators. Evidence may also be There are three types of corruption fraud: conflicts
The process of forensic accounting gathered to support other issues which would be of interest, bribery, and extortion. Research shows
as described above includes the ‘forensic relevant in the event of a court case. Such issues that corruption is involved in around one third of
investigation’ itself, which refers to the practical could include: all frauds.
steps that the forensic accountant takes in the suspect’s motive and opportunity to In a conflict of interest fraud, the fraudster
order to gather evidence relevant to the alleged commit fraud exerts their influence to achieve a personal
technical LINKED PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
page 59 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES 17 AND 18 ARE RELEVANT TO PAPER P7

gain which detrimentally affects the company.

The fraudster may not benefit financially, but
rather receives an undisclosed personal benefit
as a result of the situation. For example, a
manager may approve the expenses of an
employee who is also a personal friend in
order to maintain that friendship, even if the
expenses are inaccurate.
Bribery is when money (or something else
of value) is offered in order to influence
a situation.
Extortion is the opposite of bribery, and
happens when money is demanded
(rather than offered) in order to secure a
particular outcome.

Asset misappropriation
By far the most common frauds are those
involving asset misappropriation, and there are
many different types of fraud which fall into this
category. The common feature is the theft of cash
or other assets from the company, for example:
Cash theft – the stealing of physical cash,
for example petty cash, from the premises of
a company.
Fraudulent disbursements – company funds
being used to make fraudulent payments.
Common examples include billing schemes,
where payments are made to a fictitious
supplier, and payroll schemes, where
payments are made to fictitious employees
(often known as ‘ghost employees’).
Inventory frauds – the theft of inventory from
the company.
Misuse of assets – employees using company
assets for their own personal interest.

Financial statement fraud

This is also known as fraudulent financial reporting,
and is a type of fraud that causes a material
misstatement in the financial statements. It can techniques and the legal framework. Investigators identifying the type of fraud that has been
include deliberate falsification of accounting must also have received training in interview operating, how long it has been operating for,
records; omission of transactions, balances or and interrogation techniques, and in how to and how the fraud has been concealed
disclosures from the financial statements; or the maintain the safe custody of evidence gathered. identifying the fraudster(s) involved
misapplication of financial reporting standards. This Additional considerations include whether or not quantifying the financial loss suffered by
is often carried out with the intention of presenting the investigation is being requested by an audit the client
the financial statements with a particular bias, for client. If it is, this poses extra ethical questions, as gathering evidence to be used in court
example concealing liabilities in order to improve the investigating firm would be potentially exposed proceedings
any analysis of liquidity and gearing. to self-review, advocacy and management threats providing advice to prevent the reoccurrence of
to objectivity. Unless robust safeguards are put the fraud.
CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION in place, the firm should not provide audit and
The process of conducting a forensic investigation forensic investigation services to the same client. The investigators should also consider the best
is, in many ways, similar to the process of Commercial considerations are also important, and way to gather evidence – the use of computer
conducting an audit, but with some additional a high fee level should be negotiated to compensate assisted audit techniques, for example, is very
considerations. The various stages are briefly for the specialist nature of the work, and the likely common in fraud investigations.
described below. involvement of senior and experienced members of
the firm in the investigation. Gathering evidence
Accepting the investigation In order to gather detailed evidence, the
The forensic accountant must initially consider Planning the investigation investigator must understand the specific type
whether their firm has the necessary skills The investigating team must carefully consider of fraud that has been carried out, and how the
and experience to accept the work. Forensic what they have been asked to achieve and plan fraud has been committed. The evidence should
investigations are specialist in nature, and the work their work accordingly. The objectives of the be sufficient to ultimately prove the identity of the
requires detailed knowledge of fraud investigation investigation will include: fraudster(s), the mechanics of the fraud scheme,
technical student accountANT
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and the amount of financial loss suffered. It is did actually occur. For this reason, the investigators imperative that the members of the investigative
important that the investigating team is skilled in are likely to avoid deliberately confronting the team called to court can present their evidence
collecting evidence that can be used in a court alleged fraudster(s) until they have gathered clearly and professionally, as they may have
case, and in keeping a clear chain of custody until sufficient evidence to extract a confession. The to simplify complex accounting issues so that
the evidence is presented in court. If any evidence interview with the suspect is a crucial part of non-accountants involved in the court case can
is inconclusive or there are gaps in the chain of evidence gathered during the investigation. understand the evidence and its implications.
custody, then the evidence may be challenged in
court, or even become inadmissible. Investigators Reporting CONCLUSION
must be alert to documents being falsified, The client will expect a report containing the In summary, a forensic investigation is a very
damaged or destroyed by the suspect(s). findings of the investigation, including a summary specialist type of engagement, which requires
Evidence can be gathered using various of evidence and a conclusion as to the amount of highly skilled team members who have experience
techniques, such as: loss suffered as a result of the fraud. The report not only of accounting and auditing techniques,
testing controls to gather evidence which will also discuss how the fraudster set up the but also of the relevant legal framework.
identifies the weaknesses, which allowed the fraud scheme, and which controls, if any, were There are numerous different types of fraud
fraud to be perpetrated circumvented. It is also likely that the investigative that a forensic accountant could be asked
using analytical procedures to compare trends team will recommend improvements to controls to investigate. The investigation is likely to
over time or to provide comparatives between within the organisation to prevent any similar ultimately lead to legal proceedings against
different segments of the business frauds occurring in the future. one or several suspects, and members of
applying computer assisted audit techniques, the investigative team must be comfortable
for example to identify the timing and location Court proceedings with appearing in court to explain how the
of relevant details being altered in the The investigation is likely to lead to legal investigation was conducted, and how the
computer system proceedings against the suspect, and members of evidence has been gathered. Forensic accountants
discussions and interviews with employees the investigative team will probably be involved in must therefore receive specialist training in
substantive techniques such as reconciliations, any resultant court case. The evidence gathered such matters to ensure that their credibility and
cash counts and reviews of documentation. during the investigation will be presented at court, professionalism cannot be undermined during the
and team members may be called to court to legal process.
The ultimate goal of the forensic investigation team describe the evidence they have gathered and
is to obtain a confession by the fraudster, if a fraud to explain how the suspect was identified. It is Lisa Weaver is examiner for Paper P7