Forensic Accounting and Audit
This specialty covers matters in which accounting records must be examined as evidence: reconstructed, reconciled, tested and explained.
Context in which the problem arises
The starting point is almost always a question about the reliability of the information available: financial statements that do not reconcile, balances with no supporting documentation, movements with no justification, or a suspicion of fraud. Answering it calls for audit methodology and documentation that meets an evidentiary standard.
When this analysis is needed
- Internal inquiries into suspected irregularities.
- Corporate criminal proceedings and proceedings before oversight bodies.
- Rendering of accounts supported by incomplete records.
- Material contingencies arising from transactions and disputes.
Questions typically analyzed
- Expert examination of rendered accounts
- Accounting and financial reconstruction
- Analysis of revenue, costs and expenses
- Analysis of financial statements
- Tracing of financial flows
- Review of accounting records and entries
- Analysis of contingencies
- Identification of accounting inconsistencies
- Investigation of financial and accounting fraud
- Economic and financial crimes
How SGEx Approaches This
SGEx defines the object of the examination, preserves the origin of the data, applies tests to entries and balances, cross-references independent sources, and reports findings together with the corresponding evidence.
Possible Work and Deliverables
The format is defined according to the case, the proceeding and the purpose of the work.
- Forensic report
- Accounting reconstruction
- Financial flow map
- Expert opinion
- Support during fact-finding proceedings
Related Experience
- Investigation and Fraud
Technical advisory on fraud at an investment fund
Examination of irregular transactions that drove an investment fund into insolvency, at the request of counsel for a family of investors in an accounting-for-proceeds action.
- Economic and Financial Expert Analysis
Technical advisory on concealment of amounts in judgment enforcement proceedings
Review of the profits reported by a public-services concessionaire to determine the amount actually owed to a shareholder in judgment enforcement proceedings.
Other SGEx Solutions
Services, specialties, contexts and industries connected to this topic under SGEx's relationship matrix.
Related Services
- Forensic AccountingReconstruction and examination of accounting records and financial flows for evidentiary purposes, in contexts of suspected wrongdoing, conflict or inquiry.
- Fraud InvestigationTechnical investigation of financial and accounting irregularities, including fund tracing and the documentation of findings.
- Financial and Operational AuditExamination of financial statements, processes and controls, focused on the reliability of information and adherence to defined criteria.
- Criminal Forensic AccountingAccounting and financial examination of facts under investigation in criminal and administrative sanctioning proceedings, for those who accuse and those who defend.
- Tax Expert ServicesAccounting and tax examination of assessments, credits, tax bases and amounts in dispute in court and administrative proceedings.
Related Specialties
- Damages, Losses and Economic QuantificationLost profits, actual damages, lost revenue, indemnities and the liquidation of court judgments.
- Corporate Matters, Buyout Claims and ValuationValuation of a withdrawing shareholder's interest, balance-sheet determination, goodwill, business valuation and corporate disputes.
- Contracts and Commercial RelationsEconomic and financial imbalance, contractual disputes, and commercial agency, distribution and dealership agreements.
- Construction, Infrastructure and Public ContractsConstruction claims, project costs, cost overruns, delays, rebalancing and concession agreements.
- Administrative ProceedingsAccounting and financial expert evidence in administrative tax, sanctioning, regulatory and oversight proceedings, from the defence to the appeal stage.
- Financial Crime and Money LaunderingAccounting and financial examination of fraud, diversion and misappropriation, and of the path funds took to conceal their origin.
Related Areas of Practice
- Corporate Criminal MattersCriminal proceedings involving companies and their officers in which the evidence turns on accounting and financial analysis.
- Corporate and Shareholder DisputesDisputes among shareholders, partners and officers, corporate dissolutions, buyout claims and disagreements over financial results.
- Courts of Audit and Oversight BodiesProceedings before Courts of Audit, internal-control bodies and other oversight bodies that examine the use of public funds.
Related Industries
- Public Administration and GovernmentPublic contracts, cooperation agreements, concessions and oversight proceedings involving public funds.
- Municipalities and Local GovernmentCity governments, municipal councils and local agencies facing accountability requirements, public works and oversight by courts of audit.
- Financial and Capital MarketsFinancial institutions, investment funds, investors and publicly listed companies involved in disputes, valuations and financial reviews.
- Associations, Foundations and Nonprofit SectorAssociations, foundations and nonprofit organizations facing accountability duties, tax-immunity requirements and financial reviews.
- Cryptocurrency and Digital AssetsCustody, movement and recordkeeping of crypto-assets in investigations, disputes and asset-tracing engagements.
- Condominiums and Residential AssociationsCondominiums, gated communities and residents’ associations in account audits, accounts of property managers and disputes over works and cost sharing.
- Political Parties and OrganizationsParties, party branches, party foundations and campaigns in accounts submitted to the Electoral Courts, use of public funds and disputes over financial management.
Request an Analysis
Describe the technical question, the context in which it arose, and the documents available. This information lets SGEx assess the scope of the work before any proposal.