Posted by Kosta Arvanitis.
This article comes from the Journal of Accountancy, which is an overview and elaboration on a case study done by the 2014 AICPA Survey on International Trends in Forensic and Valuation Services. It describes the increasing demand of newer IT skills with the continuing rise in Big Data. “Big Data” are particularly large data sets that are analyzed computationally to discover patterns and trends relating to human behavior and interactions. With these large data sets, comes the need for the skills to analyze and come up with a conclusion on the behavior of those responsible for the data. Specifically, investigations in corporate accounting crimes typically involve analyzing extremely large sets of data that require certain skills to correctly interpret, in order for an attorney to be able to use during litigation.
There is an increasing demand in higher level data analysis capabilities for large sets of data. Tim Bryan, forensic accounting and technology services senior manager at Crowe Horwath in California, talks about one of his engagements involving a government agency whose investigation required an analysis of sales data over a three year period. He explains how difficult and lengthy the process is in tying the data to a source, synthesizing it all into something an attorney can use to defend the client, and even just getting it into a usable format (Journal of Accountancy 3). Working with millions of lines of data, as he describes, comes several issues in validating the data into a theory to use in a trial. As a result, he goes into saying that at his firm, database experience is crucial for CPAs; learning how to “slice and dice” data and make sense of it. For example, Bryan describes how Big Data is behind new cases he has seen in wage and hour litigation, where years and years of time-slip-level data for all employees are downloaded for analysis; this data pertaining to the clocking in and out of employees for lunch and normal breaks. The purpose of the investigation being to make sure that the employees are getting their meals and breaks.
Much of this article describes Tim Bryan’s thoughts on the subject of Big Data, since his firm deals with cases that involve Big Data. He emphasizes the fact that there are plenty of clients out there that need data analysis, and that they normally go to CPAs for this. There is an increasing demand for the skills needed for Big Data cases, in analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting the data into a fathomable theory. Bryan believes that the “price is right” when it comes to learning the skills, and suggests that future CPAs take data analysis courses, or even minor in information systems, should one end up at a firm that deals with cases involving Big Data.
Kosta is a graduate student in accounting at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University.
Reference: Journal of Accountancy. “Big Data case study: What forensic accountants need to know”. 1 March 2015. Web. 18 November 2015.