Online Forensic Accounting Degree Educational Options
There are no standardized requirements to begin a career as a Forensic Accountant however a degree in forensic accounting or accounting and certification such as certified fraud examiner will help establish the job seeker’s credentials and make the employment search smoother and success much more likely.
- Online Certifications degree in Forensic Accounting – are usually courses less than one year in duration and in various aspects of forensic accounting intended as credentials for the accountant or forensic accountant and help establish credibility in the field.
- Online Bachelors degree in Forensic Accounting – standard 4 year accounting program with emphasis on forensic accounting procedures, auditing, and fraud detection and security procedures.
- Online Master’s Degree in Forensic Accounting – 2 year post graduate course where areas of specialization are refined and forensic accounting, advanced auditing and fraud detection are all dealt with.
Forensic Accounting Career and Salary Information
The job opportunities for forensic accountants used to be pretty cut and dried. One worked for the IRS or they worked for a law enforcement agency or the FBI. These days the job prospects have expanded and private industry is now hiring their own forensic accountants. Due to recent scandals and misappropriation of corporate assets congress passed the Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in order to help curb corporate fraud. Due to the external pressure to eliminate circumstances where such fraud could be perpetrated and internal pressure from stockholders companies have begun to take a pro-active stance and hire their own forensic accountants and auditors as well.
An accountant for the federal government might earn around $50,000 per year.
A forensic accountant employed in private industry earn on average $60,000 per year.
Job growth and outlook for forensic accounting professionals
The field of accounting is expected to grow at a faster than average rate in the next seven years, that is about an 18% growth rate in job opportunities. Job opportunities for the forensic accountant are expected to be even greater than that of general accountants as private industries institute their own watchdog programs due to recent scandals. These new laws and the greater awareness of the damage misreporting corporate finances and assets can do have created an unequalled growth of jobs for the forensic accounting specialist.