A large number of corporate scandals all over the world have emphasized the need for forensic accountants. Forensic accounting is a term used everywhere, nowadays, as one can see their presence even in television serials. A forensic accountant is mainly a chartered accountant who applies his skills and training in investigations of various kinds of frauds and embezzlements. The title "Detectives Hunt for Cooked Books" in a newspaper itself gives the reason for the need of forensic accountants. In the present article, we will discuss about the functions performed by forensic accountants and their importance in the present era.

Growing corporate scandals and poor corporate governance has shattered the investor confidence in the market. Now, significant emphasis is being laid on improving investor confidence and public trust in financial reports.  Forensic accounting has become an area most attended to due to increase in financial scandals like Enron, Worldcom, Global Crossing, Qwest, etc. Forensic accountants are employed to uncover potential frauds and help attorneys in the legal proceedings of the company. Forensic accountants also help in deciding about the damages involved in case of disputes regarding contracts between companies. Increase in cyber frauds and crimes is another area which necessitates the well sought after use of forensic accounting. According to Webster dictionary, forensic means relating to or used in the courts of law or public debate or argument. The forensic accountants should keep this statement in mind while they have to work or chalk out their programs. It is a financial investigative skill in which specialists work to present the much complicated issues in a simple and understandable format. Forensic accountants must have the ability to apply investigative skills effectively as their knowledge and understanding of financial data and its representation for investigation is a critical aspect or we can say, "they must have investigative intuition".

A forensic accountant is able to give a thorough and independent professional judgment as regards the accounts and inventories presented to him by the concern. The results given by forensic accountants are suitable for legal proceedings and any kind of administrative and judicial review. They provide a high degree of assurance to the concerned parties. The findings of a forensic accountant are based upon scientific detection and interpretation of evidences of phenomena introduced in the books of accounting. The primary aim of forensic accounting is `objective verification'. It deals with cause-effect relationship, i.e., why a fraud arises and what is its impact on the concern.

Forensic accounting is an investigative accounting that involves analyzing, testing, inquiring and examining the civil and criminal matters and giving a true and fair report. According to Daniel Akst and Lee Berton, "Other accountants may look at charts but forensic accountants dig into the body. Forensic accountant is not a stereotype accountant but a private investigator with sixth financial sense than the bookkeeper with a green eye shade."

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