Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand if forensic accounting techniques and tools could contribute to the deterrence of fraud in financial statements, considering the expertise of forensic accountant on ex post activities and that the traditional mechanisms to prevent this type of fraud have not been sufficient to stop the impact on companies, investors, auditors, employees and on society in general. Design/methodology/approach This research was carried out using a qualitative exploratory study with a phenomenological approach conducted through in-depth interviews with professional experts in the forensic field. Findings The findings confirm that the use of forensic accounting techniques and tools could contribute to the prevention of fraud in financial reporting not only when the risk of fraud has been materialized. Similar studies, about fraud prevention addressing the situation under a qualitative approach from the perspectives of its protagonists, have not been observed in the bibliographical review, so this research contributes to expanding the scientific research, the study and practice of forensic accounting. Originality/value From a business management perspective, this study contributes a paradigm shift from the traditional ex post forensic auditing activity toward an ex ante activity to improve management control systems within organizations anywhere in the world. Because this study is guided to prevent fraudulent financial statements, other fraud categories such as misappropriation or corruption could be addressed in other studies and various countries.

Accounting information systems are responsible for providing information that constitutes raw material for decision making in terms of investment, payments to suppliers, payroll, income, among others. The analysis of such information becomes a cornerstone in the positioning strategies through productivity and competitiveness of any organization. When this analysis is applied to large volumes of information, there are Big Data tools that facilitate the grouping of data according to its source or nature. This paper will describe the most influential accounting information systems in the analysis of large volumes of data that affect the decision making of companies in different sectors of the economy during the period between 2015 and 2020.