IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 23, Issue 1. Ser. V (January 2021), PP 01-11 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/487X-2301050111 www.iosrjournals.org 1 | Page Extent of Availability of Necessary Skills in LACPA Members to Practice Forensic Accounting – An Exploratory Study Ibrahim Fakih 1 & Hasan El-Mousawi 2* 1 Ibrahim Fakih, Ph.D., Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon 2 Hasan El-Mousawi, Ph.D., Full Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon Abstract Lebanon has long been suffering from corruption among the various public organizations. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion on the urgent need for forensic accounting in the public sector in Lebanon to uncover any suspicious accounts at the Banque du Liban (BDL). Thus, the Lebanese government made a contract with Alvarez and Marsal to conduct a forensic audit at the BDL. At this, many financial and economic experts demanded to let local experts do it and save the high fees that Alvarez and Marsal will charge the government, especially that Lebanon has a problem in the availability of US Dollars. The researchers asked whether or not members of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA) have the necessary requirements to practice forensic accounting. Consequently, this study examines the availability of required skills in LACPA members to practice forensic accounting. A five-point Likert style questionnaire was constructed and distributed to the sample which consisted of 300 LACPA members. The researchers retrieved 261 responses that were valid for testing and analysis. The study rendered some important results, mainly that LACPA members had four of the five main required skills to practice forensic accounting, and there is a lack in the remaining skill which is quick wits and analytical thinking. Keywords: forensic accounting, investigations, courts of law, LACPA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 06-01-2021 Date of Acceptance: 21-01-2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction One of the most recent domains in accounting is forensic accounting that holds great opportunities for future needs. It serves as an integrated framework for accounting and law together in order to present more profound investigations that can be related more to lawsuits. Forensic accounting prepares a prominent forensic accountant to be an efficient expert and advisor who can perform investigations that are conducted with more comprehensiveness, accuracy and profoundness than done by an external auditor. In addition, a forensic accountant’s report comes with sufficient legal evidence that may assist in supporting lawsuits, enlighten judicial authorities and help them achieve justice. Interest in forensic accounting has increased greatly among parties involved in the financial sector after the financial crises in East Asia, Latin America and Russia in the nineties of the previous century, which were followed by the financial and banking collapse of some international American companies in 2002, 2007 and 2008. There are countless occurrences of scandals and frauds that have overwhelmed societies at all times and in all countries, even before the year 1750. These financial frauds and scandals constituted turning points with historical importance. Following is a list of companies which include just a few examples of renowned financial scandals: Enron, WorldCom and Xerox (USA), Sanyo Electric (Japan), One.Tel and HIH Insurance (Australia), Hugo Boss and Zapf Creation (Germany), Bangkok Bank of Commerce (Thailand) Global Trust Bank (India) and Parmalat (Italy). However, what is not so renowned is that almost every nation has its own financial scandals and frauds (Bhasin, 2013-a). The media has occasionally made a lot of reports about scandals and bankruptcies in some reputable organizations, both from developed and developing countries. The aforementioned financial scandals have led to major changes in the accounting domain worldwide, mainly through the issuance of new governance laws, which contributed greatly to judicial laws relative to the profession of accounting. The research at hand investigates whether or not members of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA) have the necessary skills required to practice forensic accounting in Lebanon.