Tougher Competition, Tighter Margins Coming to Forensics

U.S. hot spots for forensics accounting and auditing
U.S. hot spots for forensics accounting and auditing, by number of firms and share of nationwide billings (IBISWorld via CPA Trendlines)

Fast-growing niche attracting more firms and pushing up staffing costs.

by Rick Telberg

Fueled by demand from new deal-flow in a recovering economy, forensic accounting billings are on track to grow 7% a year through the next five years to $6 billion, according to new data provided to CPA Trendlines.

To be sure, the growth rate for the next five years represents a marked slowdown from the last five years, but it remains significantly faster than the 2% projected for CPA firms overall.