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I pursued my bachelor’s degree in finance because I liked numbers, analytical trends, and the excitement of the stock market. I explored career options in financial services through internships. I then explored other career opportunities and landed with Ernst & Young in the “Your Master Plan” program to get a master’s degree in accounting while working full time as an auditor.
As I began my journey with a Big Four public accounting firm, I learned that the FBI valued accounting expertise. I did four years with EY in the external assurances practice and became a CPA. I traveled to multiple countries in Europe for the first time and learned about various industries and cultures. The constant change of this work environment and team structure required adaptability and flexibility. This work was fairly routine but at a high-churn pace.
After leaving the public accounting world and going into private practice at Siemens, I decided to apply to be an FBI forensic accountant. Upon completion and clearance of a thorough background investigation, I was assigned to work International Terrorism in a medium-sized field office. After a couple of years, I relocated to one of our satellite resident agency offices within the division, where I worked on mostly white collar–related investigations. I took the exam and obtained the AICPA’s Certified Financial Forensics (CFF®) designation. As a collateral duty, I served as our division’s Forensic Accountant Program Coordinator, where I advocated for a designated supervisor position.
As a forensic accountant with the FBI, my primary duties consist of financial analysis of structured data on bank records received through the legal process. I am involved in matters on behalf of the federal government where criminal allegations made against individuals or a case is being developed. I analyze trends, trace the flow of money, identify assets, generate leads on additional issues to investigate through additional legal processes, and create summaries of voluminous evidence. This requires extensive analytical and problem-solving abilities, as well as organizational skills. As the subject matter expert, I frequently perform briefings and at times testify about financial nature evidence, which requires exceptional written and oral communication skills.
After eight years as an FBI forensic accountant, I attended training at Quantico to become an FBI special agent. As an FBI special agent with a forensic accounting skill set, I am more efficient in my investigative casework. I am able to quickly identify legal process to pursue and streamline my evidence collection efforts in lieu of waiting for a forensic accountant to complete an
analysis. As a special agent, I am responsible for opening, closing, and leading investigations in adherence with policies and legal authorities. My role has evolved from being a specialist on an investigation to being the lead. As the leader on the case, I make determinations on what legal process to pursue, evidence to collect, and resources to utilize in furtherance of advancing the investigation.
Excellent written and oral communication skills are more crucial in my job as a special agent when compared to my previous roles. These skills are necessary throughout the duration of an investigation, from briefing prosecutors and management; coordinating with our headquarter counterparts for deconfliction with other field offices and federal and foreign agencies; authoring affidavits establishing probable cause to obtain warrants; and interviewing witnesses, sources, and subjects. Finding the right balance of information to present within the established time frames and parameters without losing my audience with too many details can be an art.
The variety of my work and its impact is what makes my job so fascinating. Special agent accountants and forensic accountants are typically assigned to white-collar squads working financial investigations. I have been the affiant on more than a dozen search warrants for potential violations that are not only the traditional financial statutes such as wire fraud and money laundering, but also include more sophisticated claims involving the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), and Espionage Act. Having my broad experience through public accounting enables me to bring the cross-programmatic approach to national security investigations that may have otherwise been more compartmentalized.