Accounting Q&A · Forensic Accounting · Topic 10
Practise 25 forensic accounting questions on prevention, reporting channels and control follow-up using five fictional investigation cases. Try each question before revealing the answer. Legal and reporting duties depend on the jurisdiction and engagement.
A company loses money after accepting an emailed bank change
1. What should the examiner establish?
Reduce the risk of payment diversion.
2. Which records should the examiner obtain?
Obtain the supplier change and approval records.
3. What procedure would test the issue?
Test independent callback verification using known details.
4. What alternative explanation or limitation matters?
Replying to the same email does not independently verify the change.
5. What should happen next?
Require independent verification and a second approval.
Employees are reluctant to report suspicious conduct
6. What should the examiner establish?
Provide safe and accessible reporting channels.
7. Which records should the examiner obtain?
Review policies, awareness materials and handling records.
8. What procedure would test the issue?
Test whether reports can be routed independently.
9. What alternative explanation or limitation matters?
An unused hotline does not establish low risk.
10. What should happen next?
Communicate protection procedures and track response times.
Managers approve refunds they initiate themselves
11. What should the examiner establish?
Prevent unauthorised or concealed refunds.
12. Which records should the examiner obtain?
Gather roles, approvals and refund history.
13. What procedure would test the issue?
Test independent approval and customer payment destinations.
14. What alternative explanation or limitation matters?
High refund volume may reflect legitimate sales conditions.
15. What should happen next?
Separate initiation and approval and review overrides.
A retailer wants to reduce cash losses
16. What should the examiner establish?
Strengthen custody, reconciliation and review.
17. Which records should the examiner obtain?
Collect till counts, deposits and reconciliation records.
18. What procedure would test the issue?
Compare cash counts and deposits to daily sales.
19. What alternative explanation or limitation matters?
No single control eliminates collusion or override risk.
20. What should happen next?
Assign independent review and investigate discrepancies promptly.
A redesigned procurement control worked in testing
21. What should the examiner establish?
Confirm it continues to operate in practice.
22. Which records should the examiner obtain?
Obtain samples across periods and reviewer records.
23. What procedure would test the issue?
Test operating effectiveness and follow up exceptions.
24. What alternative explanation or limitation matters?
Successful rollout does not establish sustained performance.
25. What should happen next?
Set ownership, monitoring and remediation deadlines.