Video: A day in the life of a forensic accountant

In this first of a five-part video series, Accountancy Age spoke to Chris Osborne, Partner in the forensic services team at FRP, to ask what the role of a forensic accountant involves day-to-day, and what skills are needed to become one.

A vital quality of a forensic accountant is adaptability. Osborne describes how there is very rarely a ‘typical day’ as a forensic accountant, and any forward planning can completely change with one phone call.

Forensic accountants frequently work with lawyers and are often required to appear and give evidence in court, requiring complete impartiality, and will often be required to be deployed quickly in the case of fraud investigations. A forensic accountant is expected to respond quickly to client demands in investigations.

He says that for accountants who want to work in a dynamic environment that works across all types of industries, forensic accounting is a fantastic and exciting career.

Osborne joined FRP in 2016 and has over 20 years of experience working on disputes, fraud, bribery and corruption investigations. Within that 20 years, he spent three years on secondment with the Serious Fraud Office as a forensic accountant, and a secondment to the Financial Services Authority as a financial investigator.

He has acted as a party-appointed expert on behalf of both claimants and defendants, and as a single joint expert.