What is Forensic Accounting Anyway?

The other day a friend asked me "what is forensic accounting?" Honestly, it is a good question considering how morbid it sounds. When people hear the term "forensic," they automatically expect it to relate to something out of CSI. Though that's not always what forensic means, it turns out that becoming a forensic accountant is not too far from the mystery and intrigue of CSI.

A forensic accountant's job is to analyze all aspects of someone's finances, down to every little detail. The job isn't nearly as "redundant" as typical careers in accounting would be. I use the term "redundant" because that's what my friend had said in our conversation the other day. When I was pursuing my online accounting degree, I learned quite quickly that the day to day activities are anything but dull. Regardless, if I were a forensic accountant, something tells me that things would be even more exciting.

What do you think? Numbers can always be a puzzle (or mystery), but are they more fun when attached to something like Enron?