NEYART Magazine
ISSN: 2992-7161
procedural assistance in the adversarial criminal justice system; corporate compliance; auditing in digital
transformation; auditing in the education sector; and professionalization.
There is an overall uneven distribution among the sectors that use forensic audits. Universities employ
30.7% of forensic auditors, almost on par with Agriculture and Rural Development, which employs
24.7% (Osorio and Osorio, 2022), omitting large sectors. In the private sector, Torres Barragán (2024)
illustrates that forensic auditing focuses on large companies, or companies that handle international
compliance requirements, omitting SMEs and the informal sector.
The period between 2020 and 2025 is key to the advancement of technology. Ruelas Ramos (2024)
explains that AI and machine learning allow 100% of accounting and financial data to be analyzed and,
where appropriate, can detect anomalies in real time. For his part, Parra de Gallo (2025) explains that in
the case of blockchain, traceability, transparency, and security in digital chains of custody are improved.
However, Moreira Mero (2024) identifies "significant challenges" that limit this transformation: "lack of
specialized training, insufficient technological infrastructure, and difficulty in adapting to international
regulations." Digitization is creating a two-speed system where large institutions have access to
sophisticated capabilities while small and medium-sized organizations are relegated to obsolete methods,
precisely when Gómez Muñoz (2024) reports that criminals "use more sophisticated means to launder
money" through electronic fraud and cryptocurrencies.
The profile of the modern forensic auditor requires skills in accounting, auditing, internal control, risk
management, taxation, finance, information technology, investigation, and criminal law (Arias González
et al., 2019). These skills are virtually impossible to consolidate in individual professionals using
traditional educational models.
As Muñoz et al. (2020) point out, the pandemic "accelerated the need for training in computer forensics,"
but the educational response was insufficient. Giraldo and Soto (2020), as part of their proposal to
reconfigure the training of public accountants, suggest incorporating forensic auditing into undergraduate
programs. The training gap described is undoubtedly a structural obstacle that, for the moment,
significantly slows down progress in the implementation of this proposal and the democratization of
access to quality forensic auditing.
The two prominent influences on adoption are the 2008 criminal reform and subsequent international
pressure for compliance. The Mexican Association of Public Accountants (2021) states that the
implementation of the adversarial criminal procedure system made forensic auditing go from being
Edición 4 | Vol. 4 – No. 1 | Enero – junio 2026 |
Página 53
Artículo de Investigación Original