Forensic Accounting essays

Forensic Accounting essays Thousands of people all over the country fail to fully compensate the government in the form of taxes. Forensic accounting is a branch of accounting which is relatively unknown to the general public, but proves to be an important tool in the prosecution of individuals and corporations guilty of tax evasion. Despite its obscurity, this branch of accounting is responsible for many convictions and successful audits. Such successful audits resulted in the collapse of several infamous names in the corporate world; therefore inspiring legislation preventing such offenses such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Forensic accounting represents a branch of accounting which focuses specifically on the evaluation of taxes in order to determine if an individual or corporation has committed the felony crime of tax evasion. Basically, the genre of accounting is involved with examining tax documents and information for the possible conclusion of a federal or state court case based on faulty or incorrect tax filings, (Forensic Accounting Information, 2008). Although many assume the term forensic to be more associated with physical crime such as murder or assault, it also incorporates every aspect of crimes which may result in legal action. Forensic accounting, therefore, is accounting investigations based on the assumption that the filed tax information is somehow criminally altered or false. Successful forensic accounting investigations have resulted in both private and corporate audits, as well as individuals being convicted and imprisoned based on charges of felony tax evasion. Forensic acc ountants are also responsible for finding evidence of money laundering in order to prosecute individuals or other larger organizations. This branch of accounting has led investigations which resulted in the imprisonment of several individuals found guilty of tax evasion and the dissolution of major corporations based on faulty accounting practice...