Time frame for forensic accounting: normative and methodological aspects

Abstract

Subject. In the current practice of forensic accounting, there is an issue of determining the optimal timing of the examination. The scientific and educational literature reflects different points of view on the issue. We need to study the factors affecting the duration of forensic accounting, the reasons for extending their terms. It is also necessary to analyse the regulatory provisions concerning the timing of forensic accounting.Objectives. The aim of this study was to identify the features of illegal economic actions; to study the conditions affecting the target dates of forensic accounting; to determine the dependence of the target dates of forensic accounting procedure on its type; to identify and analyse the difficulties in assigning, organising, and conducting forensic accounting examinations; and to compare the requirements for forensic accounting experts and their competencies under the current laws and regulations. Methodology. We used the following methods of scientific knowledge to achieve our goals: dialectical method, analysis, and synthesis. The research was based on the study of relevant scientific and educational literature, economic journals, and factual materials. Conclusions. We concluded that the financial control system should focus not only on methodological, but also organisational and procedural issues of conducting expert economic activities regarding illegal economic actions. The time frame for forensic accounting should be considered from two perspectives: normative and methodological. The expected terms of forensic accounting examination directly depend on its type: primary, follow-up, additional, expert panel, or complex review. According to the analysis of practical materials, the actual terms of the forensic accounting panel examination usually exceed thirty days as it is used for complex, multi-episode illegal economic actions, involving sophisticated methods of concealment. Currently, there is no consensus among scientists and practising specialists on the composition of genera in the class of forensic economic examinations. Discrepancies in regulatory documents on the structure of the forensic economic examination class leads to an unjustified increase in the duration of forensic accounting due to the ambiguity in choosing the appropriate expert for a particular case.