Unreported Income Can Be Detected By Direct and Indirect Methods; Indirect Methods Examine Cash Inflows and Outflows. Here’s How. Joe Epps, CPA/CFF/ABV, CFE, CVA, explains how a forensic accountant goes about searching for unreported income—a commonly required practice in divorce and bankruptcy cases, contract disputes, and fraud investigations.  The direct method is simply reviewing financial statements for the information they provide and taking it at face value. But there are also indirect methods: One indirect method of searching for unreported income is to compare all identifiable cash sources (cash inflows) and all identifiable cash uses (cash outflows).  Find out more.