If you learn how to follow the money, it could lead you to a career in forensic accounting. Though mystery and intrigue are not words usually associated with the field of accounting, the profession does have a more adventurous side, and it's known as forensic accounting. Like other forensic work, which is usually done to ferret out wrongdoing in connection with criminal or civil investigations, forensic accounting calls for practitioners to dig deeper into a case than investigators ordinarily do and to challenge themselves to find cleverly concealed evidence. Accounting sleuths look at financial records with a critical eye, disregarding what the numbers look like on the surface and determining what they really mean when the entire fiscal picture is pieced together and put into proper prospective. Forensic accounting involves believing that, while numbers never lie, they can be manipulated, and everything is not always as it appears. With profits at the core of many criminal activities, law enforcement is relying more heavily than ever on the talents of accountants to help build cases against lawbreakers. Financial evidence unearthed through the efforts of forensic accountants is usually the most convincing part of a case brought against white-collar criminals involved in fraud, real estate scams, embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, stock manipulation, and other financial swindles. Forensic accounting doesn't end there. Investigative numbers crunchers help bring down drug empires, weapons smugglers, loan sharks, illegal gambling operators, money launderers and even terrorists. They also work to untangle financial disputes involving corporations, businesses, estates and divorce cases. This new Careers Ebook contains a wealth of unbiased information about this occupational field, based on the latest national surveys. Careers Ebooks cover attractive and unattractive sides, opportunities, education necessary, personal qualifications required, earnings, descriptions of different job specialties, first person accounts by those in the field, and how to get started; including practical advice on what to do now. There are live links to schools and colleges, associations, periodicals and other sources of reliable information.