I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect one of our most popular podcasts with John Tira, founder of Green Flash Accounting in the US. While ostensibly a conversation about one person's career, it touched on almost every question I hear from forensic accountants weighing up their next move. So, I thought it would be helpful to share these insights for anyone who finds themselves in this position.
Careers rarely run in a straight line
John didn't know what forensic accounting was at university. He tried investment banking, then audit, before finding his home in forensics almost 20 years ago. I find that reassuring. Some of the strongest candidates I speak to arrived in this field sideways, and hiring managers who screen too tightly for a tidy career path risk missing the curiosity and range that make a good forensic accountant.
Forensic Accounting is all about people
When I asked what kept John in a profession that so many leave after two or three years, he didn't start with the work. He talked about the people. Months of 2am finishes on his first big case were bearable because of the team around him. That matches what I hear. Culture is rarely the reason someone gives for leaving, but it is often the real one.
The first expert appointment is a retention issue
The question senior managers and young directors ask me most is how to win that first testifying appointment. John's answer was refreshingly practical. Do good work, because people notice even when you aren't the named expert. Make it known that you want it. And be at a firm that will support you. Some partners hoard testifying opportunities; the better firms will take on a matter precisely so that a rising professional can lead it.
My takeaway for hiring managers is simple. If your best people can't see a route to the witness box, they will find a firm where they can. With what John called a "silver tsunami" of senior experts leaving the profession, offering that route is one of the most persuasive things a practice can do for both retention and recruitment.
Specialism is valuable, but it can box you in
Large firms are increasingly siloing their people into dedicated teams for intellectual property, digital assets or asset tracing. That depth matters. But for anyone thinking of going it alone, a niche that needs an army of people to deliver makes the start-up journey far harder. John focuses on disputes rather than large investigations for exactly that reason, describing himself as a "quasi-generalist": specialist enough to be credible, broad enough to say yes to varied work.
Consolidation is creating an opening
Private equity-backed consolidation has absorbed many of the boutiques that once served the middle market, and their new rate structures often no longer suit those clients. John sees room for smaller firms to fill that gap, and more professionals leaving consolidated firms to run their own practices again.
From the recruitment side, 2025 & 2026 bore this out. Demand clustered in two places: large firms with clearly defined niches, such as intellectual property, post-M&A disputes and digital assets, and mid-market or boutique firms whose partners win a steady flow of varied work through their networks. Practices reliant on monitorships or large international FCPA investigations found the going much tougher. John sees it as cyclical, and I agree. The real question is where we are on the curve.
Learn the business while someone else is running it
When John moved to RSM in San Francisco, he was the only forensic accountant in a 15-person office. It was “sink or swim”, and it taught him to find clients and build a practice long before he had his own. Even four and a half years into running his firm, he says payroll, insurance and systems remain a learning curve. If you're considering the leap, use your time at a larger firm to learn the commercial side, not just the technical one.
Show up in person
Finally, we talked about networking. John credits the AICPA's forensic and valuation services conference with a real return, including referrals, even if it is hard to measure. In the UK we have our own equivalents, from ICAEW events to the Female Fraud Forum. In a world of Teams calls and overflowing inboxes, I'm convinced face-to-face time is only becoming more valuable than ever before.
What I took away
The professionals who truly thrive in forensics combine strong technical work with intention. They say what they want, choose environments that will back them and build relationships before they need them.
For firms, the lesson is the mirror image: give your rising talent a visible path, and they will have far fewer reasons to look elsewhere.
You can watch the full conversation between Adam Nelson and John Tira here.