Unravelling The Forensic Accounting And Investigation Standards

1. Introduction:

Investigations in the corporate landscape are referred to by a multitude of typologies, such as workplace, fraud, forensic or ethics investigations, to name a few and these typologies are representative of the myriad methods, techniques and processes deployed to achieve a singular objective i.e. discovery and determination of facts relating to an alleged violation. Given this context, the Forensic Accounting and Investigation Standards ("FAIS" or "Standards") issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ("ICAI") is a salient endeavor as it seeks to amalgamate a multitude of complex and divergent topics to provide a simple and unified framework for practitioners. However, applying a reductive approach to a complex matter can sometimes introduce unforeseen challenges. This note explores issues which stakeholders ought to consider apropos the services which fall within the ambit of FAIS.