Forensic Disciplines and Methods

Forensic Accounting

Also Known As Forensic Accountancy

Citation Formats

General Reference

Crime and Justice Atlas. "Forensic Accounting." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/forensic-disciplines/forensic-accounting.

APA Style

Crime and Justice Atlas. (n.d.). Forensic Accounting. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/forensic-disciplines/forensic-accounting

BibTeX

@misc{crimeandjusticeatlas-forensic-accounting,
  author = {Crime and Justice Atlas},
  title = {Forensic Accounting},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/forensic-disciplines/forensic-accounting},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A specialty practice area of accounting that investigates whether firms or their employees engaged in financial reporting misconduct, applying accounting, auditing and investigative skill to disputes and litigation. Frank Wilson's investigation of Al Capone's tax evasion in the 1930s is commonly cited as an early landmark of the field, though it was not formally defined until the 1940s.

Facts

What It Examinesthe subject's own account

Whether an organization or its employees engaged in financial reporting fraud or workplace misconduct, using accounting, auditing and investigative technique in a form litigation can use. 1

Known Limitationthe subject's own account

Findings depend on the availability and completeness of financial records, and sophisticated concealment techniques can evade detection. 1

Disputed

Formalized Year

1931 1

the subject's own account1931 marks Frank Wilson's investigation of Al Capone's tax evasion, commonly cited as an early landmark; the discipline itself was not formally defined until the 1940s, so no single founding year is settled.

Cross-Tradition Connections