Discussion memorandum on forensic accounting services.

An opportunity for practitioners to weigh in on their guidance needs

The AICPA Forensic and Litigation Services (FLS) Committee has developed a discussion paper entitled Forensic Services, Audits, and Corporate Governance: Bridging the Gap. The paper provides the FLS Committee's initial

observations and views concerning forensic accountants' services, including involvement with the independent audit team to increase financial statement audit effectiveness and execute accounting-related fraud investigations. This paper also raises important questions about what guidance, in addition to Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 316), may be needed to assist forensic accountants and auditors to enhance the validity, reliability, consistency, and transparency of audit work and related results.

A Chance to comment

The purpose of the discussion paper is to obtain comments from auditors, forensic accountants, managerial accountants, standard-setting and regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders, before guidance is developed. In addition, the FLS Committee sponsored a roundtable on September 22, 2004, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss the nature of additional guidance that may be needed.