Forensic Analysis & Financial Investigations
Prepared by
Brattle experts investigate and analyze allegations of accounting and financial fraud in a wide range of cases. We investigate whether accountants may have been complicit or negligent and can determine whether financial accounts reflect alleged illicit or deceptive activity, are misstated to avoid detection, or create a misleading impression of financial performance. The results of our forensic analyses provide critical evidence of the financial facts.
In investigations of potential financial fraud, forensic analysis of financial records is often used to test for misstatements in accounts that could hide illicit activity, and reconstruction of account balances and restatements may reveal the effects of fraud.
Financial
Investigations
White-collar cases that allege covert or illicit schemes are often ultimately exposed or explained through analysis of financial records other than company financial statements. In the simplest examples, financial analysis may show whether investor funds were used for their stated purpose. More elaborate schemes may involve trading strategies; bribery; false claims; money laundering; start-ups, initial coin offerings (ICOs), or reverse mergers that are, in fact, pump-and-dump schemes; or classic Ponzi schemes in which the most recent duped investors’ funds are used to pay off earlier investors as well as enriching perpetrators.
In such cases, Brattle experts assist investigators and defense counsel by organizing and analyzing financial records, such as bank statements, brokerage accounts, trading data, and wire transfers. Increasingly, financial records include public and private blockchain activity and cryptocurrency wallets. Our analysis may also integrate email, phone calls, texts and IMs, SWIFT messages, and other communication media to link financial activity with specific stated purposes and individuals.
Representative Engagements
Forensic
Analysis
Brattle experts include certified public accountants (CPAs), certified fraud examiners (CFEs), and financial economists with training in forensic accounting. We routinely assist prosecutors, regulators, and counsel in reviewing internal corporate financial records, bank records, audit work papers, financial reports, and related records and correspondence to answer key questions on what economic activity took place and whether it was properly recorded, reported, and disclosed.
In white-collar cases involving suspected deliberate accounting misrepresentations, forensic analysis typically includes examining the communications among company officials, internal accounting staff, and external auditors for evidence of possible complicity.
Representative Engagements
Paul Hinton, “How Celsius Customers May Use Tracing to Recover Deposits,” Law360 (March 6, 2023)
Experts
Forensic ANalysis
Financial Investigations
Publications
Related Practices
about brattle
The Brattle Group is a global consulting firm specializing in economics and finance. With 550+ professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Brattle provides independent analysis in litigation, energy and financial markets, and regulatory and strategic advisory settings. For more information, please visit brattle.com.
Representative Engagements
Representative Engagements
Representative Engagements