The forensic accountant is skilled in gathering and analyzing fiscal data and contributes to the fraud investigation in several ways. Fraud investigations range from those requiring little or no financial expertise and sophisticated or multijurisdictional matters well beyond the capabilities of all but the largest police agencies. The financial investigative process has five distinct phases: identification, strategy development, investigation, evaluation, and presentment. The investigative plan must be flexible to adapt to new information. When feasible, original documents should be sought and examined at their location of origin. The documents most often subpoenaed are bank records. Most police agencies have minimal budgets for hiring forensic accountants; they should try to obtain assistance from specialized government agencies or should hire an accountant with experience in assignments related to fraud or litigation. The local chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners can assist in identifying forensic accounting consultants. Police agencies must carefully monitor and control case costs. Forfeiture funds are an excellent potential source of funding for outside consultants.