Types of Forensic Audit

Forensic Auditing is a technique that aims to participate in fraud investigation. It is developed through criminal investigation techniques, integrated with accounting and legal - procedural knowledge, and skills in financial areas. Forensic auditing has the aim to provide information and evidences at a court.

We went to Studler Doyle, a global investigation and forensic accounting firm in order to find out how forensic audit works. Here, we share the information we have obtained about what is forensic audit and what are its types.

It should be noted that Forensic Auditing is a highly useful and collaborative technique that allows to the investigation of law enforcement bodies, police, prosecutorial and judicial investigation departments, to clarify possible illicit acts or crimes.

At Studler Doyle we find out that the field of action of the forensic audit, is developed within an environment made up of a multidisciplinary team of professionals, involving accountants, lawyers, graphotechnicians, computer engineers, expert personnel in investigations of different security forces or organizations, among others. The work techniques to be used are determined depending on the type of research.

What is Preventive Forensic Audit

Forensic auditors at Studler Doyle explain that the preventive forensic audit is aimed to provide evaluations or advice to different organizations with public and private characteristics, regarding their ability to deter, prevent, detect and proceed against different fraud actions.

Studler Doyle forensic auditors explain that the following preventive actions can be developed:

· Anti fraud programs and controls

· Early warning schemes for irregularities

· Complaint management systems.

“This approach is proactive, as it involves implementing, taking actions and decisions in the present to avoid fraud in the future,” says a forensic auditor from Studler Doyle.

Detective Forensic Audit

Detective forensic audit is oriented to identify the existence of frauds through in-depth investigation, establishing, among other aspects, the following:


· Determine the amount of fraud

· Direct and indirect effects

· Presumed authors

Accomplices and concealers

Forensic accountants from the forensic accounting firm, Studler Doyle note that on repeated occasions, the results obtained from a detective forensic audit work are put before the court. The court is in charge of analyzing, judging and issuing the respective sentence, especially in those cases where the law determines so.