9 Times You Might Need a Forensic Accountant

One of the common mistakes we see on a daily basis is people not recognizing when a forensic accountant can be beneficial to their particular situation, therefore, they don’t acquire expert forensic accounting services in a timely enough fashion or at all. This results in the loss of money and beyond, which can be extremely detrimental to a company, organization or individual.

In order to ensure you or your organization doesn’t experience this costly downfall, Forensic CPA Group based out of Jacksonville, FL put together this list of nine times you likely need a forensic accountant. We can help you through a wide variety of issues, so it’s important you understand when to give us a call and what professional forensic accounting can do for you.

One of the common needs of a forensic accountant is when you suspect someone in your company or organization is committing fraudulent activity. This can be a sticky situation as you don’t want to falsely accuse an employee or partner, but you also can’t take the risk of a crime. Forensic accounting can quietly investigate and establish evidence of fraud and assist through litigation as well.

While getting a divorce can be emotionally ravaging for you and your family, there are often economic ramifications applicable as well. When negotiating a divorce settlement, a forensic accountant can ensure there is no hiding of financial income or assets so you are fairly compensated during a divorce or assist in litigating a fair settlement.

When you’re dealing with the financial reports of your company or organization, there can be lots of confusion or misunderstandings with an untrained eye. If something seems off, but you can’t figure out what, a forensic accountant can analyze data in great detail and pick out any errors or problems.

When looking to sell your business, it is critical that you accept offers that are fair and accurate to your business’ actual value. An expert forensic accountant analyzes your financials to reach a fair and accurate valuation to ensure you sell for the right price, leaving no money on the table.

Establishing an accurate valuation of a business is important in ensuring you don’t overpay or buy a business that isn’t actually profitable. Forensic accounting scours the financials of a potential acquisition for an accurate, fair business valuation.

Dealing with a death in the family is a difficult time for anybody. If you’re in charge of the deceased person’s financials, the stress and grief can be exceptionally challenging. Hiring a forensic accountant supply you expert support for trust and estate dealings to make sure the deceased’s estate and wishes are properly understood and carried out.

• How do you want to fund the trust: cash, investments and even actual property such as homes or cars
• Know what protections the trust provides like limited protection from taxes and creditors
• Determine who you’ll appoint as the trustee to manage the trust
• Who the beneficiaries of the trust will be and what rules are you establishing for use of the assets

Great business partnerships are built on trust and understanding. If you suspect that a partner is stealing from you, or any other number of partnership disputes, a forensic accountant is extremely valuable at discretely uncovering any deceitful or illegal activity. Forensic accounting can always assist you in dissolving a partnership fairly so no assets are misappropriated.

Efficient taxes are important for not giving away more money than you have to. Stay within the law, but make the most of the tax laws with the professional help of a forensic accountant, especially when dividing assets.

Large businesses, or companies that are quickly growing, can make the financials that much more difficult to understand and keep up with. Forensic accounting can analyze your financials and data to pinpoint where your company is losing money and ways to stem the loss of cash flow and assets.