Forensic accounting education: insights from academicians and certified fraud examiner practitioners

Current initiatives in accounting education, while focusing on the importance of accounting instruction and teaching students how to learn, emphasise continuous lifelong learning and outcome-based assessment. The public interest in forensic accounting, especially fraud investigation, has encouraged the accounting profession to consider issuing new standards on fraud detection. This article presents a survey aimed at examining current coverage and future direction and role of forensic accounting education. Results of the study indicate surveyed academicians and certified examiner practitioners considered enhanced forensic accounting education to have several benefits. However, several factors (e.g. lack of faculty interest, lack of resources, and lack of flexibility in curriculum content) were mentioned as obstacles to providing a proper accounting education in accounting curricula. The author concludes that the demand for forensic accounting education should be integrated into accounting curricula either as a separate course or through modules in accounting and auditing courses.