[cpa1982]

Anyone here currently work or worked in Business Valuation, Litigation, Forensic accounting group? If yes, what is pro and con of this niche industry? Floride Atlantic University offers special concentration in Business Valuation and Forensic accounting. I’m interested in getting more information abt this group.

[Larry]

I passed the final part of the CPA last month and have been looking to get into forensic accounting. I'd love to hear more about it and see how I can get into this field.

at FAU, is that concentration for a Master's degree?

REG - 82
FAR - 78
BEC - 76
AUD - 8/27/16

[cpa1982]

Papogator24,

Yes, it is concentration for Master Program.

[evenier]

I worked at a small forensic accounting firm for about 4 years (recently changed to a different field). I did a lot of damages litigation work and business valuation (both for and outside of litigation). I actually entered the field without any sort of accounting background but it fit well with my math/statistics/economics background and I learned most of the accounting side on the job. So I can't speak to the value of a degree in forensic accounting.

I thought the work was great. The biggest pro for me was having different and challenging assignments all the time. I got to work with a lot of interesting people, and I often was able to see real value to my work when it helped convince a jury or get a settlement.

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

[Larry]

That actually sounds interesting. I'm hoping to find and join a firm that does forensic accounting in Miami. Hoping someone here knows of someone.

REG - 82
FAR - 78
BEC - 76
AUD - 8/27/16

[cpa1982]

Evenier,

Thanks for the reply. What made you to leave forensic accounting work? Did you get one of the business valuation certificate? Business Valuation really got my attention. Being able to work on variety of projects, getting understanding of different industries are main reasons I wanted to find out more abt the field.

[evenier]

I primarily left because an opportunity came up in another city that I wanted to move to. I now work in a more policy-oriented field, which fit my background better. That said, if you don't mind pretty long hours and intense deadlines, it's great work. I say intense deadlines because you can't mess around with getting reports in to the court.

Variety of industries is great. I worked in Houston, so it was about 50% oil & gas, then a random assortment of other areas like software, medical malpractice or injury claims, patent infringement, etc.

I worked towards the ASA accreditation. I passed all four levels prior to changing jobs and was just working towards getting the (substantial) hours needed to get the certification. However, I think the AICPA has an accreditation (the ABV) which potentially requires less investment. I had a coworker with the ASA and CPA, so it's worth looking into. The ASA classes and tests aren't too difficult if you have some real world business valuation experience.

[Author]

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