Forensic Accounting

Doug Zandstra is a CPA with an extensive and diverse background in accounting plus additional credentials that have enabled him to be admitted as an expert in financial crimes in court on numerous occasions. He’s worked for both sides, proving someone was innocent as well as guilty;

Even the wrongly accused deserve excellent representation.  

The forensic accountant’s job is to find financial crimes, which often involve money laundering and fraud. They do this by identifying assets that were stolen from their victims as well as the criminals who committed these acts against them; they also conduct due diligence reviews for any cases going through court proceedings where convictions will be determined based off evidence collected during an investigation like theirs

A successful career in Forensic Accounting requires not only knowledge about both accounting standards (the stuff you learn at school) but also crime scene investigation techniques such has photographing exterior scenes with high precision detail so tiny particles can’t escape unnoticed — even though

Small businesses experience fraud more often than large businesses.  What typically happens is a key employee finds a loophole in the accounting system or in the internal controls and uses it to their advantage.  Most often the fraud is discovered by accident or from a fellow employee (whistleblower) and according to the 2022 Report to the Nations by the ACFE regarding Occupational Fraud, is that the actual fraud is typically more than 8 times greater than the suspected fraud.  So if you suspect that an employee has fraudulently taken $10,000, when the Forensic Audit is complete, the actual fraud on average is $80,000

Also, do you think that it is only accountants that commit fraud?  WRONG.  According to the survey, accountants are only responsible for 12% of occupational fraud.  Management accounts for 15%, Sales accounts for 11% and Upper Management accounts for 11%.  

Actual fraud is not just taking cash from the bank deposit, it can be falsifying sales records, changing inventory, partnering with another employee or vendor, it can be anything.  That is why it takes a trained Certified Fraud Expert to see it, isolate it and calculate the loss as a result.

If you would like more information about our Forensic Services, contact Doug Zandstra for a consultation.