Sarbanes‐Oxley: Will you need a forensic accountant?

Abstract

The Sarbanes‐Oxley Act forces top management to certify that financial statements are free of fraud and material misstatement. Just using an independent auditor may not be enough. The authors explain why adding a forensic accountant to an audit team is an advantage—and might have saved the careers of some high‐profile cor‐porate executives. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accountants’ Behavioural Intention to Use Forensic Accounting Techniques for Fraud Prevention and Detection in Nigeria

“…As argued by Christensen, Byington, and Blalock [14], forensic accountants, by training have both the quantitative skills in researching on numbers to uncover fraud and qualitative skills to determine the weaknesses of internal control systems. Also, the mindset of a forensic accountant takes a more active, and skeptical approach towards fraud [15].…”

“…Also, the mindset of a forensic accountant takes a more active, and skeptical approach towards fraud [15]. Hence, they are more interested in exposing fraud compared to financial auditors [14,16].…”

Corporate Governance and Forensic Accountants' Role : Global Regulatory Action Scenario

“…In the USA, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) of 2002 has forced top management to certify that financial statements are free of "fraud and material misstatement" [10]. This may mean that using an auditor may not be enough and the inclusion of a forensic accountant on the audit team may be required in the future.…”

Survey of Appropriate Skills Required by Forensic Accountants: Empirical Evidence from a Developing Economy

“…An understanding of effective fraud and forensic accounting techniques can assist forensic accountants (henceforth, FA's) in identifying illegal activity and discovering and preserving evidence. For instance, some regulators have apparently noticed the need for forensic accounting [22]. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Statement on Auditing Standards-99 (SAS 99), and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) have not removed the pressures on CFOs to manipulate accounting statements.…”