Forensic Accounting
Dan Stenson
Professor Gettys
Academic Writing
4/24/12
Importance of Forensic Accounting
Business has been around for thousands of years with people buying, selling/ trading food, animals, and jewelry just to meet their own standards of living. Business fraud has been around for just as long as business has. Every person to this day and in the future was and will be looking for ways to save and earn money. The best know earliest case of fraud deals with the whites and Indians in 1626 with land swindling. Business fraud is on the rise and needs to be stopped. This is a job for forensic accounts. Forensic accounting should be the core of any business to help any business avoid sudden collapse due to fraud.
A study conducted by Jacob J. Levy, back in 2011 studied 684 accounting professionals and looked for the Big Five traits in a professional career, which were agreeableness/ teamwork, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extroversion and openness. Also Levy looked for four narrow traits, which consisted of assertiveness, customer-service orientation, optimism and work drive. The study showed that the agreeableness/ teamwork trait scored a lower mean score when compared to other professionals but the ones that scored higher valued cooperation or working collaboratively with colleagues at work. The conscientiousness seemed to be an ideal standard in the work place. The accountants that turned out to be higher on that level tend to be more satisfied with their careers. Emotional stability displayed the highest correlation with fulfillment in accounting but while being compared with other professions the scores were lower. Extroversion was highly associated with the field of accounting even though it seemed to attract more introverts. The openness trait for accountants was very low. This means that they usually like to stick to the strategies that work instead of trying new innovations. For the narrow traits assertiveness has become more important
Professor Gettys
Academic Writing
4/24/12
Importance of Forensic Accounting
Business has been around for thousands of years with people buying, selling/ trading food, animals, and jewelry just to meet their own standards of living. Business fraud has been around for just as long as business has. Every person to this day and in the future was and will be looking for ways to save and earn money. The best know earliest case of fraud deals with the whites and Indians in 1626 with land swindling. Business fraud is on the rise and needs to be stopped. This is a job for forensic accounts. Forensic accounting should be the core of any business to help any business avoid sudden collapse due to fraud.
A study conducted by Jacob J. Levy, back in 2011 studied 684 accounting professionals and looked for the Big Five traits in a professional career, which were agreeableness/ teamwork, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extroversion and openness. Also Levy looked for four narrow traits, which consisted of assertiveness, customer-service orientation, optimism and work drive. The study showed that the agreeableness/ teamwork trait scored a lower mean score when compared to other professionals but the ones that scored higher valued cooperation or working collaboratively with colleagues at work. The conscientiousness seemed to be an ideal standard in the work place. The accountants that turned out to be higher on that level tend to be more satisfied with their careers. Emotional stability displayed the highest correlation with fulfillment in accounting but while being compared with other professions the scores were lower. Extroversion was highly associated with the field of accounting even though it seemed to attract more introverts. The openness trait for accountants was very low. This means that they usually like to stick to the strategies that work instead of trying new innovations. For the narrow traits assertiveness has become more important
Cited: Adam W. Drost, et al. "Personality Traits And Career Satisfaction Of Accounting Professionals." Individual Differences Research 9.4 (2011): 238-249. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Digabriele, James A. "An Empirical Investigation Of The Relevant Skills Of Forensic Accountants." Journal Of Education For Business 83.6 (2008): 331-338. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Goldman, Michael. "Forensic Investigation Of A Professional Practice." American Journal Of Family Law 22.2 (2008): 69-72. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. Handley, J. "Prevention of Plastic and Cheque Fraud Revisited ." National Criminal Justice Reference Service (1998): n. pag. NCJRS Abstract. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. Lewis, Lionel. "How Madoff Did It: Victims ' Accounts." Society 48.1 (2011): 70-76. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Powell, Bill. "Olympus Scandal: A Confession, but Still No Answers." Time. Time, 09 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2099012,00.html>. Smith, Joshua. "Recreating the Crime through the Numbers: A Guide to Fraud Investigation, Part 1." Forensic Accountant and Fraud Accountants. 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bbforensic.com/fraudinvestigation/guide-to-fraud investigation.html>. Personal Interview Elizabeth Monty, Managing Director at Veriti Consulting