The American Institute of CPAs is encouraging more CPA firms and college professors to teach forensic accountants the skills they need to ferret out financial chicanery.

　　The institute has published a report， “Characteristics and Skills of the Forensic Accountant，” analyzing the results of a survey of attorneys， forensic CPAs and academics. The AICPA sought their views on the qualities they believed were essential in a forensic accountant. The report notes that in the wake of the economic crisis， forensic accounting has grown as a discipline for CPAs. The institute estimates that 20，000 to 30，000 CPAs now provide forensic accounting services.

　　“The CPA is the ideal professional to conduct forensic accounting，” said AICPA chairman Robert Harris， who holds the institute‘s Certified in Financial Forensics specialty credential. “The CPA profession’s essential values include integrity and objectivity， which are critical for forensic accounting.”

　　All three groups surveyed overwhelmingly cited analytical ability as the most essential characteristic of a forensic accountant： 78 percent of attorneys， 86 percent of CPAs and 90 percent of academics.

　　There were differences， however， in how the three segments ranked core skills. Attorneys believed oral communications to be the most important skill， reflecting the need to express an opinion effectively in a court of law. CPAs， on the other hand， identified critical and strategic thinking as most important， with written and oral communications as second and third， respectively. Academics agreed with the CPAs that critical and strategic thinking was the prime skill， but rated auditing skills and investigative ability as second and third.

　　Forensic accounting encompasses collecting， analyzing and evaluating evidence， and then interpreting and communicating the findings in court， boardroom or other legal and administrative venue. Attorneys tend to be the primary clients of forensic accountants.

　　The AICPA is seeking to draw younger people into the field， as well. As a result， one key objective of the report is to guide academics on what a forensic accounting curriculum needs to encompass.

　　“Students see opportunities in forensic accounting， so we‘re developing a program for the forensic accountant of the future，” said Michael Ueltzen， a forensic CPA who chairs the AICPA Certified in Financial Forensics Committee. “About 50 colleges offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in forensic accounting or a certification in the discipline. That’s five times what the number was only five years ago.”

　　美國注冊會計師協(xié)會（AICPA）鼓勵更多的會計師事務(wù)所和大學(xué)教授將查處財務(wù)舞弊所需的各項技能傳授給法務(wù)財會人員。

　　AICPA在一份題為《法務(wù)財會人員的特征和技能》的報告中（詳情請訪問），對在律師、法務(wù)注冊會計師以及專家學(xué)者中開展的一項調(diào)研成果進行了分析。AICPA就法務(wù)財會人員必須具備的品質(zhì)向上述三個群體的人士征求了意見。該報告表明，金融危機爆發(fā)之后，對注冊會計師而言，法務(wù)會計已經(jīng)成長為一門新興的學(xué)科。據(jù)AICPA估計，目前共有2至3萬名注冊會計師對外提供法務(wù)會計服務(wù)。

　　本身就持有AICPA頒發(fā)的“注冊金融法務(wù)資格”（Certified in Financial Forensics）認證證書的該協(xié)會主席Robert Harris表示：“注冊會計師是實施法務(wù)會計的理想人選。注會行業(yè)基本的職業(yè)價值觀包括誠信和客觀，這也正是法務(wù)會計的基石。”

　　在接受調(diào)查的律師、注冊會計師以及專家學(xué)者中，分別有高達78％、86％以及90％的受訪者認為，分析能力是法務(wù)財會人員至應(yīng)體現(xiàn)的特征。

　　然而，在核心技能的排序上，三個受訪群體卻有不同的見解。受訪的律師認為，由于在庭審時需要切實有效地表明觀點，所以，言語溝通是至為重要的技能。另一方面，注冊會計師則認為批判與戰(zhàn)略性思維是第一位的，書面交流和言語溝通分列第二、三位。專家學(xué)者認同注冊會計師的看法，也將批判與戰(zhàn)略性思維視為首要技能，但是位列第二、三位的是審計技能和調(diào)查能力。

　　法務(wù)會計涵蓋證據(jù)的收集、分析以及評估，并向法庭、董事會或其他法律以及管理機構(gòu)解釋和溝通調(diào)查結(jié)果。律師往往是法務(wù)會計師的主要客戶。

　　目前，AICPA正試圖吸引青年才俊入行，因此，撰寫上述調(diào)研報告的一個重要目的在于引導(dǎo)大專院校對法務(wù)會計所需的課程進行設(shè)置。

　　Michael Ueltzen是AICPA注冊金融法務(wù)委員會的主席，同時也是一名法務(wù)注冊會計師，他說：“莘莘學(xué)子看到了法務(wù)會計所提供的良機，所以我們正在為未來的法務(wù)會計制訂發(fā)展計劃。現(xiàn)在，約有50所大學(xué)可授予法務(wù)會計學(xué)士、碩士學(xué)位或是課程證書，這一數(shù)字已是5年前同類學(xué)校數(shù)量的5倍。”