Assessments of professional members of accounting and law for forensic accounting needs- sakarya province case

Economic and financial developments in the world and Turkey, the diversification of activities in business, the increase in the volume of trade with foreign countries, have led enterprises to experience structural changes. All these arrangements are quite complex and make auditing activities mandatory. The disruptions in auditing increase fraud and corruption and reduce the trust of all parties involved in the enterprise. Although many measures have been taken to prevent fraudulent practices, fraud and corruption have led to significant losses in economic life. For this reason, many of the enterprises use new techniques in audit to prevent this loss. As a result of the disagreement on the legal platform of disputes about fraud and corruption, there is a need for expert support especially in the calculation of economic losses. For this reason, the need for forensic accountants is becoming more important. Forensic accountancy profession which finds application area in the world, has also become a hot topic in Turkey as of the beginning of the 21st century. In this study carried out to support the theoretical studies on forensic accounting, was mentioned the role of forensic accounting in combating fraud and corruption. In order to support the study in practical terms, in the last part of the study, a questionnaire was applied to measure the perceptions of accounting and legal professionals in the point of need for forensic accounting. The research covers accountants and lawyers in Sakarya. As a result of the research, it was concluded that forensic accounting was seen as a need by both occupational groups. Professionals also, stated that forensic accounting education is a need.