Five ways to perform a forensic audit using Excel

Excel can be used to conduct a forensic audit, gathering evidence of possible fraud.

We cannot eliminate mistakes or "fudging" in financial data, however we can positively try to minimize it.

Here are five techniques that can be applied using Excel for tracing such issues:

• Identifying duplicate transactions using highlight values.
• Analyzing round numbered transactions.
• Above average payments to vendors or checking the ratio between a maximum and minimum.
• Gap detection.
• Checking ratio of the highest to the second highest number.