The Forensic Accounting in Sri Lanka “Perception of Professional Accountants”

Abstract

The forensic accounting has been molded and shaped by many aspects including the economy, society, legislation and corporate failures arose all over the world time to time. Over the last few years, investigations on financial crimes and corruptions were given an immense attention in Sri Lanka. The current study investigates the perceived opinions of accounting professionals on important skills need to be developed by a forensic accountant, factors that help to develop forensic accounting practice and understanding the different roles of auditor and forensic accountant. Structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 30 professional accountants representing 20 in public practice and 10 in business and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the findings. The study revealed that the professional accountants are on the view that possess with multidisciplinary skills is paramount importance to perform as a forensic accountant. Further it was noted that the awareness on the different roles of auditor and forensic accountant is at the average level among the professionals and they are on the opinion that the government should play a vital role by providing statutory empowerment to uplift the discipline of forensic accounting in Sri Lanka.