The Frauditor (2nd Edition, 2025)

“The Frauditor - A beginner’s guide to Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigations” is an attempt to introduce auditors and accountants to a relatively new area of practice, forensic accounting. The book will be useful to any professional already taking up forensic accounting engagements, or a professional or student intending to explore this area of practice in future. With fast-changing times, the landscape of audit practice continues to evolve, with some areas emerging and others becoming less relevant. In this dynamic environment, auditors have historically been viewed as watchdogs. However, today's expectation has shifted towards more aggressive and proactive fraud detection, demanding greater skill and precision. Auditors are no longer merely expected to identify apparent misstatements but to possess the ability to discern subtle irregularities and see beyond what is presented at face value. In essence, today’s auditor must evolve into "The Frauditor"

Notably, this book has been approved by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) as official study material, underscoring its educational value for professionals in the field.

The book gives practical insights to the reader and is principle based. After understanding the contents of this book, one would be well-equipped and prepared to take up engagements and deliver effectively. Because the author cannot cover every situation one would face in dealing with investigations, the concepts and principles have been explained to allow the reader to have a clear understanding of the basics and develop skills from thereon. The book has undergone a significant transformation in this edition, with every chapter being redrafted to ensure global acceptability, making it applicable and valuable to forensic accounting professionals around the world. The author has included more than 200 new case studies that reflect the variety of fraud schemes encountered across different industries and regions. These real-life cases, while anonymized for confidentiality, offer deeper insights and provide the reader with practical, actionable knowledge, empowering them to confidently apply their skills in real-world situations. Furthermore, this edition continues to educate the reader on well-established fraud schemes. Knowledge of these schemes enables statutory auditors, internal auditors, and other professionals to more readily identify red flags and anomalies, thereby adding tremendous value to the stakeholders they serve. The book focuses on essential concepts, recognising that understanding these core principles allows for their flexible application to various situations that may arise in the future.

This book is also very useful for the auditors. The book teaches the auditor how to spot red flags and detect frauds during Audits. When expressing an opinion on financial statements the auditor is not required to investigate every transaction from every angle, rather the focus is in obtaining reasonable assurance. However, after understanding known fraud schemes and red flags, the auditor naturally becomes very effective in detecting fraud. This would enhance the Audit quality, thus increasing the confidence of stakeholders that rely on these audited financial statements.

The book has been written keeping in mind global best practices, principles and laws that govern our profession. The effort is to make the reader understand concepts rather than specifics. The laws pertaining to investigations and evidence have been explained keeping in mind what is globally acceptable. Data analysis tools and digital forensic tools and procedures have been discussed. However, any specific tool has not been discussed in complete detail. It is recommended to engage experts for digital forensics. The reader will have a basic understanding of the concepts and tools used for digital forensics so that they can rely on the work of the expert.