Peculiarities of Ordering and Conducting Forensic Accounting Expertise

Abstract

The subject of the research is the process of ordering and conducting forensic accounting expertise taking into account the necessity of scientific basis for classification of forensic accounting expertise types. The increased requirements to detection of economic crimes necessitate the development of existing approaches to cooperation among all participants of forensic accounting expertise. The purpose of the research is to make a comparative analysis of classifications of forensic accounting expertise conducted in expert divisions of different law enforcement institutions focusing on delineation of tasks that an expert solves by expertizing. The authors analyze the requirements of laws and regulations on expertise activity, study the structure of forensic accounting expert institutions of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and make a comparative analysis of types of forensic accounting expertise conducted in expert divisions of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. They single out the similarities and differences in the approaches to classification of types of forensic accounting expertise which are used by the law enforcement institutions to order and conduct expertise. The reform of federal executive power bodies transferred the functions of expert support of tax criminal cases to internal affairs agencies which resulted in its factual merger with accounting direction of forensic expert divisions of internal affairs agencies. Offence-related expert tasks can conditionally be divided into two blocks: • The first block — checking if recording transaction in accounts complies with legal requirements; • The second block — calculating indicators characterizing the factual circumstances of financial and economic activity which are of interest for investigators. Recently in criminal proceedings the term “distortion” has been gradually replaced by “compliance” (or incompliance) of recording facts of financial and economic activity with the legal requirements. Better scientific foundation, accuracy and a holistic approach to organizing, classifying and conducting forensic accounting expertise will create optimal conditions to uncover economic offences.