Thursday, March 22, 2012

Dangerous liaisons

Based on films involving accountants, it seems CAs are more dangerous to others than victims of crime on the job. Neither role is desirable. Maybe being thought of as simple number- crunchers lurking in the background is actually a good, and safe, cover.

Most CAs, forensic or otherwise, don’t become involved in files that could end with them hanging from a local landmark or proposing murder. But there are engagements that belie the tired cliché of an accountant’s life being enervating and boring. Some files are anything but routine and can, on occasion, place a CA in a dangerous predicament. If a case requires a CA to work in a city or country known for its violence or lawlessness, that obviously increases the potential for something untoward to occur.

Unless circumstances demand it, Boucher strongly advises against getting armed, an option few CAs are likely to consider. “If a threat is so serious you’re considering getting a gun perhaps you should reconsider the file,” he says. “If it feels that dicey it’s real simple: get away from there. Guns blazing is not a good thing.”

For more information, read the March 2012 CAmagazine article “Dangerous liaisons” by David Malamed, CA•IFA, a partner in forensic accounting at Grant Thornton LLP in Toronto.