For
a forensic accountant to perform his duty fully well, he must posses some
qualities or features, which includes:-
(i)
Curiosity – A
strong desire to know or learn something
(ii)
Persistence – He
must have the ability of doing his work not minding the difficulties he might
encounter during his work. Refusing to give up in any negative situation he
might meet.
(iii)
Creativity – He
must be a person who knows how to apply his skills and imaginative mind to
work. Creating something out of nothing.
(iv)
Discretion –A
forensic accountant must be careful in all his deeds and able to pass a right
judgment after his investigation. He does the right thing and say the truth.
(v)
Confidence – A
forensic accountant must be one whom people have confidence and trust on. They
must believed and relied on in all ramification and should show that in the
discharge of their (forensic accountant) duties.
(vi)
Analytical –He
should be able to study or examine things in details. And also give his
judgment in a detailed form. That is, he must be detailed oriented as well.
(vii)
Ethical –He must
be somebody who has moral principals that is morally correct and has rules that
guides his actions.
(viii)Initiative- He must have the power of understanding
situation and people’s feelings immediately without the need for concision
reasoning or study.
(ix)
Evaluative –He
must have the capability of forming an idea to assess something or value of
that something
(x)
Inquisitive –A
forensic accountant must be someone who ask questions a lot about what he is
investigating on. Other qualities includes
(xi)
Sound
professional judgment
(xii)
Insightful
(xiii)Function well under pressure
(xiv)
Be skeptic
(xv)
Be responsive
(xvi)
Generates new
ideas and scenarios
(xvii)
Be a team player
(xviii)
Makes people feel
at ease
(xix)
Has the ability
of organizing
Finally, a forensic accountant must be open to
consider all alternatives, scrutinize the fine details and at the same time see
the big picture. In addition, a forensic account must be able to listen
effectively and communicate clearly and concisely any type of fraud he detects
or can be prevented.
Who
Retains a Forensic Accountant
The services of a forensic accountant is need by many,
both the private sectors and public. Below are groups that retains a forensic
accountant for a proper auditing, investigating, detecting and prevention of
fraud.
(i)
Lawyers
(ii)
Police forces
(iii)
Insurance
companies
(iv)
Government
regulatory bodies and agencies
(v)
Banks
(vi)
Courts
(vii)
Business
communities etc.