Big Keith meets Sherlock Holmes

Accountants get a bad rap in fiction; their few leading lights include the monotonal, verbally inappropriate Big Keith from ‘The Office’, along with miserly colleagues Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge. However, when accountants turn part-detective they move towards far more celebrated and charismatic territory. Esther Martin spoke to John Webb about the skills required for that curious hybrid – the forensic accountant.

John Webb MA, FCCA, ACFE is the former chairman of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ banking and financial services group and serves on the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants’ internal audit network panel committee. As a Certified Fraud Examiner, John is experienced both in fraud risk management and investigation. Contact: johnwebb77@gmail. com, © John Webb 2011.

“We need to marry the accountant and the investigator, no matter how hideous the offspring of such a marriage might be!” Joseph Wells, founder and chairman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, has said. In reality, such creatures step out daily in their business suits without provoking horrified gasps, yet they possess a special blend of characteristics. “Forensic accountants look behind the numbers,” says John Webb, who himself is an experienced auditor and fraud examiner.