Blog 8 - Interviewing

Blog 8 – Interviewing

The notion of interviewing should not be overlooked by the Forensic Accountant. It is a possibility that interviewing will form part of a Forensic Accountant’s career at one point, and therefore getting it right early on is vital. Usually, those who have great skills at interviewing are better positioned to obtain evidence and solve crimes (Korda Mentha, 2013). Not only this, but Forensic Accountants who are skilled at interviewing are better off in all walks of life, both professionally and personally (AICPA, 2013).

I think it’s rather interesting how Forensic Accountants get to undertake many roles, interviewing being one of them. Generally, I would say that people assume that interviews are undertaken by police investigators, who perhaps have more standardized training than an accountant may have.

In 2000, there was a case that went through court which involved forensic accountants. In R. v. Reid, the judge viewed statements made by the suspect to two forensic accountants employed by KPMG, as inadmissible. The judge ruled that Reid’s statements were inadmissible because the accused reasonably believed that the Forensic Accountants were persons in authority and the statements were not obtained voluntarily.

So, it’s obvious that Forensic Accountants need to go about their investigation the right way, and subsequently be able to conduct interviews effectively. Not doing so can put a case at risk, and ultimately the client needs to come first.

A strategy must be in place and relevant questions should be asked. I also think it’s important that the Forensic Accountant doesn’t lose sight of his or her purpose in the investigation, and that they keep a clear objective in their mind. Although a confession may be elicited based on the evidence produced by the forensic accountant, interrogation normally is reserved for experienced specialists such as law enforcement officers (Porter, 2013).

References

Porter, S. (2013). THE CONFESSION INTERVIEW: ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT. Retrieved from  http://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/canadian/2013/presentations/5B-Scott-Porter-cpp.pdf

American Institute of CPA’s. (2012). Conducting Effective Interviews. Retrieved from http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/ForensicAndValuation/Resources/PractAidsGuidance/DownloadableDocuments/10834-378_interview%20whiite%20paper-FINAL-v1.pdf

Korda Mentha. (2013). Advanced Interview Techniques. Retrieved from http://www.kordamentha.com/docs/for-publications/1105-AdvancedInterviewTechniques.pdf?Status=Master