I was an assistant forensic accountant for 5 years previously.
I did not have any accounting qualifications when I got the job, but I got the job because I already worked for the firm and the boss liked me and asked which dpt I wanted to work for and I chose that one.
The majority of the people working there in the senior positions were ACA and a couple ACCA. There were no CIMA people working directly for the dept, although as there was cross-departmental co-operation and functionality, some CIMA people were involved in the data analysis side if need be.
It has a high focus on Auditing and reporting skills, so CIMA is not the best qualification to have if you want to work in forensic accounting and I would have thought most of the big firms would want ACA or ACCA. I think it would also depend on what practical experience you have also.
Mitsu, I think you win the award for the longest time taken to reply on Cimasphere! ;-)
But yes I am still interested in Forensic Accounting. I have just passed all my exams and am looking for a new job so now is the time to decide if a move into Forensic Accounting would be a good one for me.
I have seen some jobs and it looks like they do prefer ACA/ACCA but as Nicholas says, it's also about your experience. What type of company are you working for (Lawyers/Accountancy Practice/Other) and what sort of things are you involved in?