Forensic Accountant
What the work is
Analyses, investigates, corroborates and critiques records, statements and reports to develop accurate and reliable narratives of events, cases, disciplinary assessments and irregular occurrences.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Analyses financial and non-financial documents and data to actively trace and identify inaccuracies and fraud
- Investigates organisations and individuals for criminal financial activity
- Provides support and presents findings to be used as trial evidence in court cases
- Constructs valuations and economic loss models for organisations from a variety of data sources
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional accounting firm in a regional city, in the weeks before small business tax returns are due. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A nervous small business owner finally understands their own numbers and relaxes
- You spot an error that would have caused a real problem and fix it before anyone notices
- A client who started with a shoebox of receipts now sends tidy records every month
Hard days
- A deadline week with too many returns and too little time
- A client who wants you to treat something in a way that you know is not right
- A set of figures that will not add up, however many times you check them
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 211133, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.