Fraud & Forensic Investigations
Fraud, contractual disputes and allegations of corruption require expert examination of books and records, agreements and documentation to determine what actually occurred. CFI’s fraud and forensic investigation capabilities enable clients to recreate, reconstruct or analyze complex financial and electronic information.
CFI’s highly experienced team of forensic accounting professionals provides clients with the insight, direction and practical guidance to identify and address financial misconduct, record tampering, regulatory compliance, anti-corruption, investment schemes and fraud. Additionally, we can establish internal controls to serve as the first line of defense in preventing and detecting fraud. We can also help clients respond to regulatory inquiries, and if necessary, determine and calculate remediation.
Risk Assessment
CFI helps clients to evaluate current internal policies and procedures, and to create and enforce cost-effective and flexible controls that ensure compliance and mitigate risk. We help to establish and test appropriate processes that reduce the likelihood for fraudulent activity to occur, and to identify problems quickly when they do.
Investigations
CFI applies its extensive data analytics capabilities to support internal investigations and external matters that require detailed, accurate and objective forensic analyses. We work directly with clients and their outside counsel, with the highest levels of discretion, on complex matters that often involve high-stakes, in terms of financial outcomes and brand reputation.
Regulatory Response
CFI’s experienced internal CPAs and auditors understand and remain current with the challenges of the rapidly changing landscape of corporate governance and regulatory requirements. For the past 25 years, we’ve helped clients meet the standards, regulations and best practices affecting internal audit, IT audit and internal controls for a broad range of industries.
Range of Fraud & Forensic Expertise
CFI helps clients to detect and prevent a broad range of internal and external fraudulent activity.
INVESTIGATIONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
CASH FLOW
ANALYSIS
OF THE FINANCIAL
TRANSACTIONS
REMEDIATION
QUANTIFICATION
DUE DILIGENCE
ASSESSMENT &
DESIGN
INVESTIGATIONS
ANALYSIS &
REMEDIATION
EXECUTIVE
DEFENSE
FINANCIAL
INVESTIGATIONS
ASSESSMENT
CFI’s subject matter experts are recognized as industry authorities in some or all of these areas.
Managing Fraud Risk
CFI works with clients to address the underlying factors that cause fraud to occur, as a means to pro-actively prevent and detect its occurrence.
Source: W. Steve Albrecht, Ph.D., CFE, CPA, CIA, is a Professor of Accountancy at Brigham Young University. He was the first president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Internal controls are one way companies can deter fraud opportunities. But unless they address the pressures and rationalizations to commit fraud, as well as the elements of the fraudulent act, they are limited to dealing with emerging frauds as crises. This often results in ad hoc investigations, inconsistent decisions and no long-term prevention plans.
Fraud & Forensic Case Studies
For a large national retail bank, CFI investigated and provided forensic analysis in a case involving a complex invoice tampering scheme by an employee of a company that claimed its business failed because the bank had allowed the employee fraud to occur.
CFI’s extensive research and exhibits – detailing the company’s audit and reconciliation practices, internal controls, fraud detection and financial condition – resulted in the matter against the bank being dismissed with prejudice.
For a major creditor of a large fuel transportation company, CFI investigated and provided reports and exhibits in a case involving the fraudulent transfer of assets, as a means to avoid paying the creditor. The scheme involved creation of a new business using the same name, managers and employees of the old company.
CFI prepared a detailed analysis involving several years of accounting records to uncover the transfer scheme and to calculate damages for our client. The matter was settled between the parties, prior to completion of the litigation, to our client’s satisfaction,.
For a large brokerage firm, CFI investigated potential misrepresentation and fraud by one of its veteran Financial Advisors, who had applied for collateralized loans at two banks. The FA had used his own securities account statements to validate his net worth to secure the loans.
CFI compared and analyzed the actual account statements at the broker-dealer with the statements submitted to the banks. CFI’s detailed review validated the extent to which the FA had falsified his own account statements in order to establish larger lines of credit from the banks. This evidence was used to convict the FA of bank fraud totaling nearly $9 million.
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