Silent Auction; Forensic Accounting

[Dave Wilton]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Dave Wilton
> Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 9:02 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Silent Auction; Forensic Accounting
>
>
> > FORENSIC ACCOUNTING--A popular post-Enron term that I've been
> > seeing recently, but it pre-dates Enron.
>
> The first time I heard this term was on an episode of "Law & Order." I
> believe the episode is "Girlfriends," from the sixth season.
> The episode originally aired 1 May 1996.

Yup, that's the one. The episode in includes a line from a witness
testifying to a grand jury, "I'm a forensic accountant. I perform audits for
the purpose of uncovering business fraud."

I would be shocked if L&O coined the term, but it's at least as old as 1996.