International Emergence of Forensic Accounting Education and Practice

Zabihollah Rezaee¹, Danny Lo², Michael Ha³

¹Fogelman College of Business & Economics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, USA.
²International Business School Suzhou, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
³Department of Mathematical Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.

DOI: 10.4236/jss.2014.212001                

Abstract

Forensic accounting practice has emerged in the areas of litigation support consulting, expert witnessing, and fraud investigation. Although forensic accounting practice is viewed as one of the most rewarding and secure career choices, there is a gap between forensic accounting practice and education. Thus, this study gathers opinions of international students regarding the importance demand, relevance, benefits, coverage, and delivery of forensic accounting education to international accounting students. Results indicate that: 1) the demand for and interest in forensic accounting education and practice will continue to increase worldwide; 2) forensic accounting can be integrated to the business curriculum by either offering a stand-alone forensic accounting course or through infusion into several accounting and business courses; and 3) many of the suggested forensic accounting topics should be integrated into business and accounting curricula in universities worldwide. The findings can be of great benefit to business colleges and accounting schools worldwide in redesigning their curricula by providing coverage of the emerging area of forensic accounting.

Keywords

Forensic Accounting Practice and Education, Business and Accounting Curricula, Financial Statement Fraud

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

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