How does forensic accounting work in a divorce?

[Anonymous]

The judge ordered stbx to hire a forensic accountant to place a value on his business. He's pissed but this could all have been avoided if he had agreed to negotiate or mediate instead of dragging the divorce into court. I didn't request it; the judge ordered it. Anyone know what the process is? I'm sure he's trying to hide money from me and frankly I didn't care. I just wanted to settle this based on what I knew/was privy to. Now he has opened up a whole other can of worms.

[Anonymous]

Most forensic accountants I know learned their trade at the IRS, where they were trained to find hidden sources of income or assets. For example, they often look for unexplained cash deposits as indicators of secret accounts.

They are very good at projecting someone's unreported income by analyzing their financial data (e.g., their expenses, reported purchases, etc.) If your spouse is trying to hide assets, they will likely find it.