Forensic and Investigative Accounting Services
Essential services for protecting your interests in a variety of circumstances
Standard accounting creates a record of activity. Forensic accounting scrutinizes that record to determine whether it is reasonable and to unlock hidden information that can provide additional insights, answer pressing questions, and settle important disputes. At North American Forensic Accounting PC, our team is comprised of certified experts in forensic accounting and related fields. We believe that numbers have a story to tell, and we use our skills, knowledge, experience, education, and training to help those numbers speak. Quite often, the objective truth at the heart of a dispute lies in data that has already been collected but has not been properly understood. Forensic accounting helps parties to a dispute come to an understanding, thus facilitating firm resolutions.
How to understand forensic accounting
The word forensic means related to argumentation or debate, especially in the courts or a public forum. The goal of forensic accounting is to produce evidence to support an argument being offered or to answer a question that has been posed. Forensic accountants use processes akin to scientific methodologies to draw conclusions about what a record of activity truly reveals.
Forensic accounting, like civil law itself, can be separated into two distinct purposes: transactions and litigation. Transactions deal with exchanges and agreements, such as sales and contracts. Litigation is the legal process for resolving disputes. Forensic accounting is an aid in each of these pursuits.
Forensic accounting in transactions
Forensic accounting is often used in business by parties who are:
- Filing or reviewing an insurance claim
- Preparing a business for sale
- Seeking to acquire a business
- Contemplating a merger or joint venture
- Preparing to offer securities for sale
Forensic accountants perform a range of tasks aimed at determining the value of a business and assessing its potential for future earnings, as well as analyzing data to answer business questions or collecting facts to perform a wide variety of calculations.
Businesses often use forensic accounting to glean additional information that doesn’t leap off the page of their internal audits or quarterly reports. Forensic analysis can be used to provide answers to many questions, such as:
- Explaining losses
- Identifying deep trends in sales or expenditures
- Building or enhancing mathematical or statistical models
- Measuring the effectiveness of compliance programs
Forensic accounting in investigations
In some instances, the facts brought to light can indicate unlawful conduct that may trigger civil or criminal action. At this point, the purpose of forensics shifts to supporting litigation. The investigation might focus on gathering evidence of:
- Breach of contract
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Embezzlement
- Fraud
- Post-acquisition discrepancies
- Sexual harassment
- Wage and hour violations
Of course, attorneys who are already involved in civil litigation might engage forensic accountants to support their cases. Lawyers often request forensic analysis on matters such as:
- Economic damage calculations
- Lost profit calculations
- Evidence of preferential treatment of creditors in bankruptcy cases
- Marital asset valuation in divorce cases
- Evidence of hidden assets and fraudulent transfers
Forensic accountants often appear in court as expert witnesses testifying to the bases for their calculations. The cases which our experts have participated include bankruptcy, bank fraud, breach of contract, divorce, embezzlement, insurance claims disputes, personal injury, professional malpractice, wage and hour claims, and many more.
NAFA’s broad skill set supports our comprehensive services
Forensic accountants must have a broad range of knowledge and skills to accomplish the tasks before them. NAFA’s team is comprised of highly trained professionals who are well-versed in:
- Accounting
- Auditing
- Criminology
- Data analytics
- Information systems and digital forensics
- Investigation
- Interviewing
- Risk management
- Communication
- Psychology
These skills and experiences enable us to be uniquely qualified to assist your organization with additional services in the areas of internal audit, risk, and compliance. Some of these additional services include:
- Assistance with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
- Internal audit co-sourcing
- Contract compliance reviews
- Business resilience
- Independent assessment of compliance programs and mapping to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
- Implementation or refreshing of compliance and ethics programs
- Whistleblower hotline testing and analysis
Our team is deeply committed to maintaining and enhancing our skills through ongoing professional development. We aim to be a complete resource for business and legal clients who require excellent forensic accounting services to meet their goals.
Contact North American Forensic Accounting PC today
North American Forensic Accounting PC provides a broad range of forensic accounting services for businesses, claims adjusters, attorneys, and insurance companies. To learn more, call us at 347-286-4860 or contact one of our offices online to schedule an appointment. NAFA serves clients from offices throughout the United States, including in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, and the Tampa Bay Area.