forensic auditing.A professional accountant could be engaged in a number of different..............

forensic auditing A professional accountant could be engaged in a number of different contexts to perform forensic work, the following practical situations could all feature in the exam. The forensic accountant could be engaged to investigate fraud. For example, a business that has fallen victim to fraud may engage the accountant to quantify the extent of the losses. Alternatively, a forensic accountant may be called in to investigate and/or quantify financial statement fraud (e.g. overstatement of revenue). In a case where an auditor or accountant is being sued for negligence both parties may wish to employ forensic accountants either to investigate the standard of work performed or to establish the losses suffered by the plaintiff. Insurance companies often engage forensic accountants to verify and report on the amounts of losses suffered by a claimant where there is a dispute between the claimant and the company. Due to the nature of this work forensic accountants will very often be called as expert witnesses in civil or criminal cases. This is a very important function and some jurisdictions have specific rules governing their duties For example, in England & Wales experts have a duty to exercise reasonable skill and care to those instructing them, and to comply with any relevant professional code of ethics. However, when they are instructed to give or prepare evidence for the purpose of civil proceedings they have an overriding duty to help the court on matters within their expertise. This duty overrides any obligation to the person instructing or paying them. Experts must not serve the exclusive interest of those who retain them.