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Business Process and Internal Control Reviews |
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We investigated the risk of theft for a leading west coast apparel manufacturer that discovered one of its key finance employees had a record of criminal theft. We interviewed accounting, human resource, and internal technology personnel to identify and understand existing business and internal control processes, tested the processes, and recommended improvements.
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Contract Audits (e.g., construction contracts and royalty agreements) |
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We performed royalty audits for a publicly traded biotechnology company at the sites of its licensees. Prior to each audit, we interviewed our client management to discuss contract specifics and areas of potential concern. During each audit, we interviewed licensee management and employees responsible for tracking data relevant to royalty reporting; analyzed the royalty reports and verified payments submitted to our client; tested invoice sales detail for reporting integrity
and product bundling and allocation issues; and submitted our findings to our client in a report format we standardized at the onset of the project.
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Financial Statement Reconstruction |
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A Vancouver-based private school needed financial statements to accompany a significant funding request. We assisted its accounting staff in posting, reconciling, and classifying financial records and transactions to a general ledger in a format acceptable to the school’s outside accountant. We reconciled tuition payments and accounts receivable; reviewed cash and analyzed discrepancies between bank reconciliations and the general ledger bank balances; performed a fund balance
analysis; recorded other bank account data; analyzed stock transactions; prepared beginning balance and current year workpapers (reconciled to adjusted trial balance); drafted a statement of functional expenses; and drafted a management letter. Our work enabled the school’s outside accountant to proceed with preparing audited financial statements. The school received its funding.
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Contract Disputes |
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Retained as an independent neutral third party to provide a peer review of expert opinions delivered in a series of reports for a multimillion dollar construction contract dispute. Reviewed 14 expert reports and the deposition testimony of multiple witnesses; interviewed the financial and construction experts representing the plaintiffs and defendants; analyzed multiple years of accounting data and construction contracts; and provided a report of findings to the case arbitrators.
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Estate and Trust Disputes |
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The family of an elderly individual was concerned that another family member acting as executor was misappropriating funds. We documented the movement of monies from several targeted accounts and traced withdrawals from those accounts to other accounts of interest based on information provided by legal counsel for the estate. Our work clearly established that the executor had used a portion of the estate's funds for his personal benefit and was used as the basis to negotiate the
executor's repayment to the estate. Much to the relief of the family members involved, the case settled out of court.
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Special Accounting Related Projects |
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An international manufacturer of automobile accessories was concerned about the expenses being claimed by its high-level management personnel. We audited the expense reports of selected executive and management employees to identify questionable expenses based on criteria identified by our client. We documented potential patterns of abuse for each of the subject employees and trended our findings. Our client and its legal counsel used our deliverable to methodically follow up
on each finding and take corrective action.
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