Forensic accountant vs forensic investigator

The differences between forensic accountants and forensic investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a forensic accountant and a forensic investigator. Additionally, a forensic accountant has an average salary of $66,833, which is higher than the $52,267 average annual salary of a forensic investigator.

The top three skills for a forensic accountant include CPA, litigation and forensic accounting. The most important skills for a forensic investigator are incident response, windows, and FTK.

Forensic accountant vs forensic investigator overview

	Forensic Accountant	Forensic Investigator
Yearly salary	$66,833	$52,267
Hourly rate	$32.13	$25.13
Growth rate	6%	11%
Number of jobs	39,176	5,032
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a forensic accountant do?

Working close together with law enforcement agencies, a forensic accountant specializes in investigating potential fraud and financial crimes. Their responsibilities typically include performing extensive research and analysis, gathering and analyzing various forms of financial data and storage, reviewing and validating documents, verifying information, and conducting internal and external financial audits. Most of the time, a forensic accountant presents research findings to lawyers and judges as evidence, which will require them to participate and testify in court proceedings.

What does a forensic investigator do?

A forensic investigator is responsible for collecting evidence and pieces of a clue to solve a complicated incident. A forensic investigator must have strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills to handle various cases that would require intensive research and scientific principles application. Forensic investigators usually work closely with law enforcement personnel to identify all possible sources and secure evidence for further examination. They also study the scene where the incident happened, document observations, creating investigation reports, and communicating with several witnesses that would support possible claims.

Forensic accountant vs forensic investigator salary

Forensic accountants and forensic investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Forensic Accountant	Forensic Investigator
Average salary	$66,833	$52,267
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $100,000	Between $27,000 And $98,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	-
Best paying company	Berkeley Research Group	-
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between forensic accountant and forensic investigator education

There are a few differences between a forensic accountant and a forensic investigator in terms of educational background:

	Forensic Accountant	Forensic Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Accounting	Criminal Justice
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Forensic accountant vs forensic investigator demographics

Here are the differences between forensic accountants' and forensic investigators' demographics:

	Forensic Accountant	Forensic Investigator
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	8%

Differences between forensic accountant and forensic investigator duties and responsibilities

Forensic accountant example responsibilities.

Prepare internal financial reports for treasury manage accounts include in external compliance reports.
Gain accounting and auditing experience with this CPA firm.
Select and roll out ERP software to meet company requirements.
Complete all tasks for a full service CPA firm independently with little supervision.
Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of GAAP to record transactions.
Prepare responses to interrogatories and requests for production documents.

Forensic investigator example responsibilities.

Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Prepare investigative reports, scientific forensic analysis reports and other documents in support of civil litigation.
Perform in-depth forensic analysis of Macintosh computer hard drives and prepare expert report for use in ongoing litigation.
Prepare affidavits of information and apply for investigative or grand jury subpoenas and other legal orders necessary for a thorough investigation.
Present to schools, community organizations, and local corporations prevention techniques in a PowerPoint format.
Evaluate impressions for AFIS (automate fingerprint identification system) potential.

Forensic accountant vs forensic investigator skills

Common forensic accountant skills

CPA, 21%
Litigation, 16%
Forensic Accounting, 8%
Financial Data, 7%
Fraud Investigations, 7%
CFE, 5%

Common forensic investigator skills

Incident Response, 17%
Windows, 12%
FTK, 11%
Litigation, 8%
Physical Evidence, 6%
Digital Evidence, 5%

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Forensic Accountant
Forensic Accountant vs Forensic Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

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