Financial fraud examiner to accountant
A financial fraud examiner already meets 24% of what the accountant role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.4/ 100
1 How much of what an accountant is expected to do is already part of a financial fraud examiner’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the accountant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accountant role treats 7 of its required skills as things a financial fraud examiner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure compliance with accounting conventions
- financial statements
- fraud detection
- identify accounting errors
- interpret financial statements
- prepare financial statements
What stands in the way is 19 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accountant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial fraud examiner background worth leading with.
- already held identify accounting errors information skills
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held manage corporate bank accounts management skills
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles business, administration and law
- already held international financial reporting standards business, administration and law
- already held prepare financial auditing reports information skills
All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the accountant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 45 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn accounting department processes required
- still to learn commercial law required
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn financial department processes required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- still to learn analyse financial performance of a company required
- still to learn calculate tax required
- still to learn check accounting records required
- still to learn prepare tax returns forms required
- still to learn prepare trial accounting balances required
- optional, not held keep track of expenses optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held calculate production costs optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- still to learn attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions required
- still to learn explain accounting records required
- still to learn manage accounts required
- still to learn perform balance sheet operations required
- optional, not held resolve difficult account allocation cases optional
- optional, not held check the production schedule optional
- optional, not held manage inventory optional
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held evaluate budgets optional
- optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- still to learn draft accounting procedures required
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- still to learn follow the statutory obligations required
- still to learn statistics required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accountant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 accounting department processes study this
- 02 commercial law study this
- 03 depreciation study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held fraud detection knowledge
- already held identify accounting errors skill
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held conduct financial audits skill
- already held international financial reporting standards knowledge
- already held manage corporate bank accounts skill
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
- already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held film production process optional
26 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held keep track of expenses optional
- optional, not held resolve difficult account allocation cases optional
- optional, not held check the production schedule optional
- optional, not held consult with motion picture producer optional
- optional, not held consult with production director optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held manage inventory optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held calculate production costs optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held evaluate budgets optional
- optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held liaise with auditors optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage revenue optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
14 held skills the accountant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role anti-dumping law knowledge
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
- not needed by the target role detect financial crime skill
- not needed by the target role financial jurisdiction knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
- not needed by the target role forensic intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify if a company is a going concern skill
- not needed by the target role international law knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret law skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role perform forensic accounting skill
- not needed by the target role public offering knowledge
- not needed by the target role trace financial transactions skill
12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn accounting department processes required
- still to learn commercial law required
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn financial department processes required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held financial forecasting optional
- optional, not held insolvency law optional
- optional, not held liquidity management optional
Common questions about this move
Can a financial fraud examiner become an accountant?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A financial fraud examiner already covers 24% of what an accountant is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the accountant role treats as required.
What skills does a financial fraud examiner need to become an accountant?
19 required skills are missing, plus 26 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is accounting department processes.
How hard is the move from financial fraud examiner to accountant?
Its learning distance is 79.4 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.