Forensic Accounting Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented by Type of Investigation (Criminal & Fraud Investigation, Bankruptcy Proceedings, Risk Management, Event & Data Analysis, Regulatory Investigations, Cross Border Investigations, Other Forensic Audit), By Organization Size (SME’s, Large Enterprises), By Purpose (Litigation Support, Criminal Investigation, Possible Fraud Detection, Others), By End User (BFSI, Law Enforcement Agencies, Government, Accounting Firm, Others) By Region, Competition 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 7.29 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	9.96%
Fastest Growing Segment	BFSI
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 12.89 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Forensic Accounting Market will grow from USD 7.29 Billion in 2025 to USD 12.89 Billion by 2031 at a 9.96% CAGR. Forensic accounting involves the integration of accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to examine financial statements for use in legal proceedings and fraud detection. The expansion of this market is propelled by the rising incidence of complex financial crimes and the enforcement of stricter regulatory compliance measures globally. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, in 2024, the median loss per case for organizations impacted by occupational fraud was 145,000 United States dollars. This financial risk drives the demand for specialized examination services to safeguard assets and ensure corporate accountability.

However, the market encounters a significant challenge regarding the shortage of skilled professionals who possess the necessary combination of analytical and legal expertise. This scarcity of qualified personnel limits the ability of service providers to scale their operations efficiently and meet the growing volume of investigations required by modern business environments.

Key Market Drivers

The escalating incidence of financial fraud and white-collar crime acts as a primary catalyst for the Global Forensic Accounting Market. As fraudulent schemes become more elaborate, organizations require robust investigative services to trace illicit funds and quantify financial damages. This surge compels corporations to deploy forensic accountants to dissect complex records and provide admissible evidence for litigation. According to the Federal Trade Commission, February 2024, in the '2023 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book', consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, marking a historic high for reported losses. Consequently, the need to mitigate these financial hemorrhages drives the continuous engagement of forensic experts for both preventive audits and reactive investigations.

Simultaneously, the integration of artificial intelligence and big data analytics is reshaping forensic investigations. Service providers utilize machine learning to process vast volumes of data, allowing for the identification of irregularities that manual audits miss. This shift enhances accuracy and expedites legal disputes. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, February 2024, in the 'Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report', 83% of anti-fraud professionals anticipate implementing generative AI into their anti-fraud programs over the next two years. The adoption of these tools is critical given the compounding costs of financial crime. According to UK Finance, in 2024, losses from unauthorized financial fraud across payment cards and remote banking totaled 708.7 million British pounds in 2023, emphasizing the necessity for advanced forensic solutions to stem these losses.

Download Free Sample Report

Key Market Challenges

The shortage of skilled professionals constitutes a primary restraint on the growth of the global forensic accounting market. This sector demands a workforce that possesses a rare combination of advanced financial analytical skills and a comprehensive understanding of legal frameworks. Finding candidates who demonstrate proficiency in both accounting standards and investigative methodologies is difficult, which limits the capacity of service providers. When firms cannot recruit adequate personnel, they are often forced to decline new cases or extend project timelines. This inability to scale operations in response to client needs directly reduces potential revenue generation and slows the broader market expansion.

The gap between the available talent pool and the volume of financial misconduct requiring investigation is widening. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, in 2024, organizations lost an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenue to fraud. This statistic highlights the substantial financial exposure businesses face, creating a high demand for forensic services that the current labor market struggles to satisfy. As long as the supply of qualified forensic accountants lags behind the prevalence of financial irregularities, the market will face persistent difficulties in maintaining a consistent growth trajectory.

Key Market Trends

The Adoption of Blockchain Forensics for Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Investigations is becoming indispensable as criminal organizations increasingly exploit decentralized finance platforms to obfuscate illicit fund flows. Forensic accountants are now required to possess specialized skills in tracing digital wallets and de-anonymizing blockchain transactions to recover assets involved in complex investment scams and ransomware payments. This technical evolution is directly driven by the exponential growth in digital asset crimes that traditional investigative methods cannot address. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, April 2025, in the '2024 Internet Crime Report', cryptocurrency-related fraud losses reached 9.3 billion United States dollars, representing a 66 percent increase from the previous year.

Simultaneously, there is a marked Specialization in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Forensic Audits as regulatory bodies enforce stricter sustainability reporting standards. Companies face heightened scrutiny regarding greenwashing, where misleading claims about environmental impact lead to reputational damage and regulatory penalties, necessitating forensic verification of non-financial data. This trend forces firms to integrate sustainability metrics into their investigative frameworks to validate corporate disclosures and detect systemic misrepresentation. According to RepRisk, October 2024, in the '2024 Greenwashing Report', high-severity greenwashing cases increased by over 30 percent globally, underscoring the growing need for rigorous forensic scrutiny of severe environmental misconduct.

Segmental Insights

The BFSI sector currently stands out as the fastest-growing segment within the Global Forensic Accounting Market, driven by a critical need to combat increasingly complex financial crimes. As banking operations digitize, institutions face heightened risks of money laundering and cyber-enabled fraud, compelling them to adopt specialized investigative services. Additionally, rigorous enforcement of compliance mandates by major regulatory bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), forces financial organizations to maintain absolute transparency. This regulatory pressure effectively transforms forensic accounting from a reactive measure into an essential proactive function for maintaining market integrity and minimizing liability.

Regional Insights

North America maintains a dominant position in the global forensic accounting market, primarily driven by a rigorous regulatory environment that mandates strict financial transparency. The region experiences high demand for fraud investigation and litigation support, largely influenced by enforcement actions from bodies such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This legal framework compels organizations to implement robust internal controls and conduct regular audits to mitigate financial risks. Furthermore, the concentration of major multinational corporations in the United States creates a sustained requirement for professional services to handle complex compliance matters and economic disputes.

Recent Developments

• In April 2025, Baker Tilly and Moss Adams announced a definitive agreement to combine their operations, a move that significantly impacts the advisory and forensic accounting landscape. This major collaboration creates a combined entity with enhanced resources to address complex financial disputes and regulatory compliance matters. By uniting their complementary strengths in risk advisory and assurance, the firms intend to offer a broader range of specialized services, including forensic investigations, to middle-market clients across the United States and globally. The merger represents a strategic consolidation designed to meet the increasing demand for comprehensive financial expertise in an evolving regulatory environment.
• In May 2024, Kroll expanded its suite of digital solutions for the forensic accounting market with the launch of DataminerAI. This artificial intelligence-driven tool was developed to optimize incident response and litigation support by rapidly pinpointing and categorizing sensitive information within unstructured data sets. By automating the document review process, the technology allows the firm’s investigators to assess risks and predict costs more accurately during financial inquiries. The solution is available to law firms and insurance carriers, aiming to reduce the time and resources required for manual data mining in high-stakes financial investigations.
• In February 2024, Ankura Consulting Group introduced a new technological advancement to the forensic accounting sector by launching NoraGPT, a custom generative artificial intelligence tool. Developed in a secure environment in partnership with OpenAI, this platform enables the firm's professionals to process and analyze vast amounts of investigative data with greater efficiency. The tool features human-like memory and advanced file management capabilities, which are specifically applied to fraud detection and complex dispute resolution. This product launch underscores the growing reliance on secure AI solutions to identify financial irregularities while maintaining strict data privacy standards for clients.
• In January 2024, the EY organization announced a strategic alliance with Reveal Data Corporation to enhance its capabilities within the global forensic accounting market. This collaboration integrates a leading artificial intelligence-powered eDiscovery and investigations platform with EY’s existing forensic and integrity services. The partnership is designed to assist clients in managing the complexities of legal and regulatory data by utilizing advanced automation and deep analytics. By deploying these sophisticated tools, the firm aims to streamline the review process for large-scale investigations, thereby improving the accuracy and speed of fraud detection and risk management for global organizations.

Key Market Players

• AccessData Group, Inc.
• BDO Global
• Cellebrite DI Ltd.
• Cygna Labs Corporation
• Ernst & Young LLP
• Deloitte LLP
• Arbutus Software Inc.
• Fulcrum Management Solutions Inc.
• Sama Audit Systems & Software Pvt Ltd.
• CaseWare IDEA Inc.

By Organization Size	By Purpose	By End User	By Region
SME’s Large Enterprises	Litigation Support Criminal Investigation Possible Fraud Detection Others	BFSI Law Enforcement Agencies Government Accounting Firm Others	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Forensic Accounting Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Forensic Accounting Market, By Organization Size:

• SME’s
• Large Enterprises

• Forensic Accounting Market, By Purpose:

• Litigation Support
• Criminal Investigation
• Possible Fraud Detection
• Others

• Forensic Accounting Market, By End User:

• BFSI
• Law Enforcement Agencies
• Government
• Accounting Firm
• Others

• Forensic Accounting Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE