Financial Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement

Organizations facing allegations of misconduct require a structured investigative process to determine what occurred, when and how it occurred, who was involved, and the extent of impact. Our professionals conduct forensic accounting investigations on behalf of management teams, boards of directors, audit committees, and internal and outside counsel. Investigations are scoped and documented in anticipation matters may involve self reporting to regulators or create litigation exposure.

We investigate a broad range of complex matters including:

• Financial reporting irregularities and accounting manipulation
• Employee misconduct and misappropriation of assets
• Whistleblower allegations and internal complaint investigations
• Vendor and procurement fraud
• Consumer and investor harm matters
• Financial crimes including anti-money laundering and FCPA
• Alleged trade fraud and tariff evasion

Where appropriate, we work with organizations and their legal counsel to develop the facts necessary to assess voluntary self-reporting obligations and to develop remediation plans designed to prevent recurrence.

Credibility is critical in regulatory investigations. Companies subject to government inquiries require structured, independent analysis and well-supported responses. We assist with document analysis, financial reconstruction, data analysis, and the development of defensible investigative findings. Our professionals have appeared before regulatory staff on behalf of clients to explain investigation findings and remediation measures undertaken. We work with legal counsel in responding to regulators across broker-dealer, consumer banking, investment adviser, and importer matters. We provide practical guidance on the key factors that regulators consider including self-policing, self-reporting, remediation, and cooperation and help clients build a credible, well-documented record across each dimension.

Forensic accounting and data analysis play a critical role in complex commercial litigation and government enforcement disputes. Early case assessment, class certification, damages quantification, financial analysis, and expert opinions require professionals with experience in both the accounting and legal frameworks governing these matters.

We assist law firms and corporate clients with:

• False Claims Act matters including qui tam defense and damages analysis
• Class action litigation defense
• White collar criminal tax defense
• Valuation disputes and post-acquisition claims
• Economic damages analysis and quantification
• Regulatory enforcement litigation

Our professionals may serve as consulting experts, testifying experts, neutral accounting arbiters, or in support of expert witness teams in litigation and arbitration matters. We have also served as court-appointed fiduciaries and receivers.

Complex forensic accounting investigations frequently require analyzing large volumes of structured and unstructured financial data across multiple systems, time periods, and formats. Our team applies advanced data analytics and investigative technology to identify anomalies, reconstruct financial transactions, and assess financial exposure at scale.

Our methodology covers four phases:

1. Planning: Define objectives, identify datasets, scope availability and retention issues
2. Preservation and Collection: Secure collection across structured and unstructured sources, chain of custody documentation
3. Integration and Quality Control: Normalize and cleanse data, document limitations
4. Analysis and Reporting: Time series analysis, outlier detection, financial modeling, data visualization, and custom analytics aligned to engagement objectives

Following an investigation or enforcement matter, organizations need to address root causes, remediate harm where applicable, and strengthen compliance programs to reduce future risk.

Our professionals assist clients with:

• Root cause analysis and control gap identification
• Internal controls assessment and remediation roadmap development
• Customer harm remediation including eligibility criteria and restitution calculations
• Compliance program risk assessments covering anti-fraud, anti-bribery, trade monitoring and surveillance
• Whistleblower programs
• Monitoring and governance framework improvements

International trade compliance has become a significant area of civil and criminal enforcement risk. In an environment of shifting U.S. trade policies, expanding use of the False Claims Act, and heightened scrutiny from the DOJ and CBP, importers face meaningful exposure to tariff-related investigations and disputes.

Working closely with importers and their legal counsel, our professionals apply investigative techniques and advanced data analytics to gather evidence, quantify exposure, and develop remediation plans.

Key areas include:

• Tariff classification and customs valuation analysis
• Country of origin reviews and supply chain tracing
• False Claims Act exposure analysis related to customs filings, financial reconstruction and damages quantification
• Voluntary self-disclosure support
• Enforcement inquiry and regulatory response support including DOJ and CBP matters

Forensic accounting applies accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to matters that may involve litigation, regulatory inquiry, or enforcement action. Forensic accountants reconstruct financial transactions, identify irregularities, quantify damages, and produce findings that can withstand scrutiny in legal and regulatory proceedings.

The Financial Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement team handles internal investigations, regulatory enforcement response, litigation and disputes support, data analytics for complex financial matters, trade and tariff investigations, and post-investigation remediation. Engagements are scoped to the specific matter and frequently operate under the direction of outside counsel.

Organizations should consider engaging a forensic accounting team when facing allegations of misconduct, whistleblower complaints, government inquiries, regulatory examinations, or complex litigation involving financial damages. Earlier engagement typically preserves more options and protects the integrity of the evidentiary record.

A qui tam lawsuit is a type of False Claims Act action in which a private party, known as a relator, files suit on behalf of the government alleging fraud against a federal program. If the government intervenes or the relator prevails, a portion of any recovery goes to the relator. Organizations named in qui tam actions require independent forensic accounting analysis to assess exposure and develop a credible defense.

The Financial Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement team frequently operates under the direction of outside counsel to support attorney-client privilege and work product protections. We understand discovery expectations and evidentiary standards, and we structure our work to produce findings that are both factually defensible and legally usable.

The right forensic accounting firm for a matter should have direct experience with the regulatory agencies or litigation context involved, a multidisciplinary team combining forensic accountants, data scientists, and industry specialists, and a track record of producing findings that hold up under regulatory scrutiny and cross examination. Independence and privilege-awareness are also critical, particularly for matters that may involve self-reporting or parallel civil and criminal proceedings.

The False Claims Act is a federal statute that imposes civil liability on entities that submit false claims to the federal government. It covers a wide range of conduct including healthcare billing fraud, customs and trade fraud, and defense contractor fraud. The False Claims Act also authorizes qui tam whistleblower lawsuits by private parties acting on the government's behalf.

The Financial Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement team analyzes accounting and financial records, electronic communications, securities trading data, customs filing data, systems access logs, and other structured and unstructured data sources. Advanced analytics capabilities include time series analysis, outlier detection, financial modeling, and data visualization tailored to the specific engagement.