Why forensic accounting is a very good place to be right now

With recession comes increased incidences of fraud, heightened anxiety around capital projects and tougher financial regulations, all of which spells more business for forensic accountants. Not surprisingly, they're hiring.

Business is booming - PricewaterhouseCoopers, for instance, has seen revenues from its forensics division increase by 77% on three years, and KPMG tells us its one of its most profitable areas currently.

"Over the last 12 months, the economic crisis has spawned a great deal of traditional forensics work, like fraud investigations and dispute resolution," says Andrew Palmer, head of forensics at PwC. "But in the two years prior to that, there was a greater sense of anxiety around capital projects and M&A transactions, which meant firms were keen to receive advice about dealing with potential crises before they emerged."

The greater levels of work coming from the financial sector has also been something of a boon for the industry, says Alex Plasvic, UK head of forensics at KPMG.

"There's a lot of examination into what went wrong in the financial sector and why governance structures did or didn't work, which requires forensic expertise and investigation capabilities," he says.

But are there job opportunities? Plasvic says the Financial Services Authority, financial institutions and Big Four firms are all keen to add to their ranks, while Palmer says his team has expanded "dramatically" over the last couple of years and is now around 300-strong.

"Those with experience within the financial sector, but who also have forensic expertise, are particularly coveted at the moment," says Plasvic.

Big Four firms are also witnessing a greater desire from existing employees to transfer across to forensic services teams.

"It's not surprising that people want to work within a successful part of the firm, particularly in the current climate," says Palmer. "One of the most obvious areas to migrate from is the transaction services division, where there's a fairly natural overlap."