Introduction to Legal Framework - Week 3

-

 AYB115 WEEK 3 - Introduction to Legal Framework


“It is unnecessary for forensic accountants to be familiar with the Australian Court Hierarchy or understand basic differences in Civil and Criminal Law. In fact, the court system as a whole is irrelevant to a forensic investigation”



It is completely incorrect and inappropriate for forensic accountants to be unfamiliar with the Australian court hierarchy and the legal system when conducting any forensic investigation. The understanding of the court and legal system is essential for forensic accountants for many reasons such as their expert testimony, the presentation of their evidence, and their general adherence to legal standards.


 

Forensic accountants are often called upon to provide expert testimony to the work they provide. Forensic accounts testimony can only be based off the facts that they bring to the case and cannot be based off opinions unless they again only base it off the facts they bring. This correlates to how forensic accounts should know the legal and court proceeding when it comes to how they present their evidence and what evidence is admissible within a court of law. If a forensic accountant does not know about these rules and court proceedings, they could be at risk of bringing in inadmissible evidence that could cause the case to be severely hindered or declared a mistrial.

 

If these legal standards are not followed it could damage the reputation of the forensic accountant and show them to be less trust-worthy and less knowledgeable than what is needed by legal professionals to collaborate with them to conduct thorough and effective investigations.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IT Governance Frameworks - Week 1

-
Image
  AYB115 WEEK 1 - IT Governance Frameworks "Governance does not protect an organisation against fraud, bribery and corruption. Choosing ethical employees is the only way to prevent such crimes." I disagree that choosing ethical employees is the only way of preventing crimes such as fraud, bribery, and corruption. Governance most certainly has an influence on preventing these crimes as well, however governance severs a different role in preventing fraud in comparison to hiring ethical employees.   Ethical employees are a crucial part in preventing crimes relating to fraud, bribery, and corruption but it being the only factor is not enough. Even the most ethical employees can succumb to external pressures such as financial hardship or pressures within the company to meet certain deadlines or quotas. Moreover, sometimes it is not apparent in the hiring process what prospective employees’ motives are for the company, making it very difficult to solely rely of having ethical e...
Read more

Criminal Fraud and the Law - Week 4

-
Image
 AYB115 WEEK 4 - Criminal Fraud and the Law “Boards of Directors and CEOs should not be accountable for their employee’s actions according to the law”. Discuss this in light of the findings of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry” The argument of the Board of Directors and CEOs being not accountable for their employee’s actions is very complicated and there are many different factors to consider when making up a conclusion. In most cases I would agree that the Board of Directors and CEOs should not be accountable for their employee’s actions, however, exceptions could be made to that opinion, especially after the find of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry .   Within the Royal Commission it was found that some of the key issues such as companies charging fees for no services, misconduct in credit and banking, which stems from the overall investig...
Read more

Criminal Fraud and the Law - Week 5

-
AYB115 WEEK 5 - Criminal Fraud and the Law “It is not the forensic accountant’s role to determine whether the opposing party is guilty or innocent. Instead, it is their role to investigate the quantification of loss and damages to be paid to their client” I agree that forensic accountants should not determine whether the opposing party is innocent or guilty and should investigate the potential losses and damages that should be paid to the client using their expertise to provide an accurate financial analysis and potentially their expert opinion to assist within those legal proceedings.   Within the context of a civil law case, a forensic account may be required to give their expert opinion to calculate the losses and damages that must be paid out. Those two scenarios are in the case of a business valuation, and in lost profits.   In terms of the business valuation , a forensic accountant may be asked to provide their expert opinion where the damages awarded must be a l...
Read more