"The Company secretary plays an important role as Forensic Auditor". Explain.

Role of Company Secretary as a Forensic Auditor Criminal Investigations: A Company Secretary should use his/her investigative accounting skills to examine the documentary and other available evidence to give his/her expert opinion on the matter. Their services could also be required by Government departments, the Revenue Commissioners, the Fire Brigade, etc. for investigative purposes. Practicing forensic accountants could be called upon by the police to assist them in criminal investigations which could either relate to individuals or corporate bodies. Personal Injury Claims: Where losses arise as a result of personal injury, insurance companies sometimes seek expert opinion from a forensic auditors before deciding whether the claim is valid and how much to pay. Fraud Investigations: A Company Secretary might be called upon to assist in business investigations which could involve funds tracing, asset identification and recovery, forensic intelligence gathering and due diligence review. In cases involving fraud perpetrated by an employee, the forensic auditors will be required to give his/her expert opinion about the nature and extent of fraud and the likely individual or group of individuals who have committed the crime. The forensic expert undertakes a detailed review of the available documentary evidence and forms his/her opinion based on the information gathered during the course of that review. Investigation and Inspection: Company Secretary may help the Police, ACB and other investigating authorities in collecting evidences and for other investigation purposes. For example, section 157 Cr.P.C, 1973; sections 17 and, 18 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; Section 6 of The Bankers Books Evidence Act, 1891; Section 78 of Information Technology Act, 2000; Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013 wherein the Court or Police may require the skills of forensic auditors while inspecting any books in so far as related to the accounts of an accused. Expert Opinion: Company Secretaries see and carefully examine the accounts and balance sheets and use his skills to find out whether there is any fraud committed or any anomaly associated with it by giving his expert opinion. He can also be called as an expert under section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Professional Negligence: The forensic auditor might be approached in a professional negligence matter to investigate whether professional negligence has taken place and to quantify the loss which has resulted from the negligence. A matter such as this could arise between any professional and their client. The professional might be an accountant, a lawyer, company secretary etc. The forensic expert uses his / her investigative skills to provide the services required for this assignment. Expert Witness Cases: Company Secretary as Forensic Auditor often attend court proceedings to testify in civil and criminal court hearings, as expert witnesses. In such cases, they attend to present investigative evidence to the court so as to assist the presiding judge in deciding the outcome of the case. He can also be called as an expert under section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Mediation and Arbitration: Some forensic auditors because of their specialist training they would have received in legal mediation and arbitration, have extended their forensic auditing practices to include providing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services, in absence of which a matter could be expensive and time consuming for individuals or businesses involved in commercial disputes with a third party. [Section 89 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908] Litigation Consultancy: Company Secretaries are eligible to be engaged in litigation and assisting with evidence, strategy and case preparation. Computer Forensics: A Company Secretary is trained to assist in electronic data recovery and enforcement of IP rights etc. Company Secretary plays an important role in mitigating the Corporate Frauds.