The forensic accountant is a strange animal. Did you know that there are no ‘official’ credentials required for an individual to claim he is an ‘expert’ in the field of preparing a business interruption insurance claim? I have seen some experts with undergraduate degrees in accounting, economics, finance, engineering, computer science, mathematics, even philosophy. I have seen some who carry some of the following alphabet soup after their name such as MBA, CPA, CMC, CFF,CVA, AVA, CFFA, CFE, and CPCU. I have even seen some with nothing after their name.
While I am the first person to advocate that the MOST important criteria to be an expert at preparing a business interruption insurance claim is experience, I believe that credentials are as important as street creds. Well, let me say that they MAY be important. For example, I have an enormous amount of respect for a credential that requires a rigorous exam or exams. I respect this type of credential because its holder had to learn a body of knowledge, information specific to the credential that other experts in the field believe is appropriate.
This type of credential proves that the individual has received a certain amount of training at one point in their career. Most of the respected credentials require continuing professional education. Continuing education helps to ensure that the practitioner stays up to date with current theories and trends in their area of expertise. Finally, most respected credentials require a certain amount of experience to both obtain and to keep the credential, which further ensures that the professional’s skills are current.
Surprisingly, many so called “forensic accountants” have no professional credentials. Many forensic accountants may, or may not, have ever received any formal training, which means that they may have never been tested on the body of knowledge in which they claim to have expertise. Forensic accountants without credentials are not required to attend continuing education and have no minimum experience requirements. Forensic accountants without credentials are not formally recognized by any professional peer group and have not been tested on demonstrated skills or training–although they may be very good salesmen.
Because risk managers, business owners, and corporate officers who are experiencing a business interruption loss are under a lot of stress, our advice is to beware of people who are good salesmen without the proper experience and credentials. While experience is a very important factor, make sure your forensic accountant also has recognized and applicable credentials related to your type of project by asking for a CV or Bio–and then following up on that information. Doing this simple check can help prevent a very expensive lesson.
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