Forensic Accounting Degree Concentration
Key Takeaways
- A bachelor’s degree is the minimum educational credential for forensic accounting careers, but some employers prefer to hire master’s degree-holders.
- Earning a forensic accounting undergraduate/graduate certificate or a professional certification can boost job opportunities.
- Forensic accounting salaries average nearly $90,000 per year. Wages can increase with experience and additional education.
Colleges typically offer forensic accounting programs as concentration areas or minors for degrees like a bachelor’s in accounting or an MBA with a concentration in forensic accounting. It can also be its own degree, as in a bachelor’s or master’s in forensic accounting.
Coursework in this field covers investigative techniques, data analysis, and risk assessment. You’ll also learn about accounting software and statistics while building your critical thinking and decision-making skills.
This guide explores different forensic accounting degrees and certificates you can earn, potential careers and salaries, and ways to increase your employment prospects.
What Is Forensic Accounting?
Over the past 75 years, forensic accounting and fraud detection have evolved into a scientific discipline. Forensic accounting trains professionals to investigate financial cybercrimes, fraud, and related criminal activity. Forensic accountants enhance financial transparency while combating accounting malpractice and financial misconduct.
Because forensic accounting is a subfield of general accounting, you need to master subjects like auditing, business math, finance, and managerial accounting to succeed. You typically need at least a bachelor’s degree for entry-level jobs. Earning a master’s degree or graduate certificate in forensic accounting can improve your job prospects and qualify you for advanced roles.
Career paths for workers with these educational credentials include financial investigation, forensic auditing, fraud analysis, and risk management at private companies, law firms, nonprofits, and government agencies.
What Skills Do Forensic Accounting Programs Teach?
Forensic accounting degree students acquire technical and practical skills, which vary by degree level. Programs also include opportunities to hone the soft skills forensic accountants need. Below, we list common skills forensic accounting program enrollees can expect to learn.
What Are the Types of Forensic Accounting Degrees?
Forensic accounting students can pursue multiple kinds of educational credentials, including undergraduate and graduate certificates as well as associate, bachelor’s, and graduate degrees. Some universities may offer alternative names for forensic accounting degrees, concentrations, or certificates, such as “fraud examination” or “financial forensics.”
While a bachelor’s degree is usually the minimum requirement for forensic accounting careers, your chosen professional path can dictate whether you need a specialty certificate or graduate-level credentials.
Undergraduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting
You can earn an undergraduate certificate in forensic accounting prior to entering a degree program or concurrently with a general accounting associate or bachelor’s degree. An undergraduate certificate builds foundational skills and can serve as a testing ground to see if forensic accounting is a field you want to pursue.
Undergraduate certificates in forensic accounting usually take a year or less to finish and include many of the same foundational courses in associate or bachelor’s programs, such as introduction to financial crimes and fraud examination. While you cannot launch a forensic accounting career with only an undergraduate certificate, you can earn potentially transferable credits toward a degree or concentration in forensic accounting.
Associate in Forensic Accounting
Associate degrees in forensic accounting are rare. More often, prospective accountants enroll in a general accounting associate degree program while earning an undergraduate certificate in forensic accounting.
Accounting associate degrees take about two years of full-time study and provide transferable credits toward a bachelor’s degree. Some four-year universities partner with community college accounting programs to offer a seamless transfer credit experience.
Associate degrees in general accounting include introductory courses in business math, finance, managerial accounting, and marketing. Forensic accounting associate programs offer classes in accounting data analytics, fraud examination, interview techniques, and legal elements in fraud investigations.
Graduates of accounting associate degrees can find employment in entry-level general accounting positions, while those interested in forensic accounting typically need at least a bachelor’s degree to enter the field.
Bachelor’s in Forensic Accounting
In most cases, a bachelor’s degree is the minimum educational credential you need for a forensic accounting job. Bachelor’s degrees in forensic accounting typically take four years of full-time study. Often, the first two years include foundational general accounting coursework, including financial accounting, auditing, and accounting information systems.
The final two years of a bachelor’s program usually focus more on forensic accounting coursework, including classes like business law, fraud detection, and legal aspects of accounting.
Universities offer forensic accounting programs as concentrations within general accounting degrees, or as full-fledged bachelor of science, business administration, or arts programs. Examples of degree titles in this field include:
- Bachelor of science in forensic accounting and fraud examination
- Bachelor of science in accounting with an auditing/forensic accountancy concentration
- Bachelor of arts in accounting with a concentration in forensic accounting
- Bachelor of business administration in forensic accounting
Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting
Graduate certificates in forensic accounting can help you qualify for advanced roles and add value to your existing bachelor’s or master’s degree. At some institutions, graduate certificate credits can transfer toward a master’s in forensic accounting.
Most graduate certificate programs take about one year of full-time study and cover advanced financial topics. Forensic accounting graduate certificates build on such undergraduate and general accounting concepts as auditing, bookkeeping, and financial analysis. Courses typically focus on business law, cybersecurity risk management, dissecting financial statements, and litigation support.
Master’s in Forensic Accounting
Some employers may prefer or require applicants to hold a forensic accounting master’s degree to qualify for jobs in the field. Master’s degrees offer opportunities to delve into more advanced, specialized topics than general accounting or bachelor’s degree programs. Courses may include forensic interviewing, fraud data analysis, IT auditing, litigation theory, and white-collar crime.
A master’s degree in forensic accounting can lead to supervisory roles and higher pay. Most programs at this level take two years of full-time study.
Forensic accounting master’s degrees have several names, including:
- Master of science in forensic accounting
- Master of science in forensic accounting and fraud examination
- Master of forensic accounting
- Master of arts in accounting with a concentration in fraud examination
- MBA in forensic accounting
Doctorate in Forensic Accounting
You may consider an accounting doctorate if you’re interested in academia or a top-level role in the private sector. Ph.D. programs focus primarily on research and take 4-7 full-time years, including dissertation requirements. Doctor of business administration (DBA) degrees emphasize applied topics.
Few schools offer doctoral programs in forensic accounting specifically. Instead, you can earn a Ph.D. or DBA in accounting with a research or practical focus on forensic accounting. Courses to help you specialize include accounting ethics and professional responsibilities, accounting fraud in government, criminal investigative techniques, and expert’s roles and reports.
Is Forensic Accounting Better as an Undergrad or Graduate Degree?
If you have an associate degree in accounting, you may qualify for entry-level positions in the field. However, a forensic accounting bachelor’s degree generally leads to more employment opportunities and career advancement. This credential can also prepare you for master’s-level study in forensic accounting.
Graduate degrees in forensic accounting can boost your earning potential and qualify you for leadership, research, or university teaching roles. Some employers may prefer master’s degree-holders over those with bachelor’s degrees. A master’s in forensic accounting can also provide more specialization options, training you for niche careers which can pay higher-than-average wages.
Both degrees help you meet eligibility requirements for professional credentials like certified fraud examiner and certified in financial forensics. These certifications can increase your earning potential.
Let your career goals inform your decision about which educational path to pursue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Studying forensic accounting can be challenging. You can enter the field of forensic accounting with an associate degree in accounting and an undergraduate certificate in forensic accounting, but you will most likely need at least a bachelor’s degree.
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