Winning A Fair Share
16 May 2014Appeal Court judges have ruled that the ‘Cinderella’ daughter of farmers in Wales should receive a fair share in her parents’ £7m estate for the years of low-paid work she had put into it. Eirian Davies was repeatedly assured by her parents that she would ultimately take over the family’s thriving farm and pedigree milking […]
Digging Into The Figures
09 May 2014News that Balfour Beatty and National Grid are investigating allegations of fraud on a multi-million pound gas mains replacement contract is a reminder that any business owner suspecting malpractice within the firm should employ a team of forensic accountants to investigate it. According to recent reports, both organisations are investigating cash payments, backhanders and ‘sweeteners’ […]
Effect of money laundering on UK economy
02 May 2014The National Crime Agency has just published the most comprehensive public-facing analysis to date of the serious and organised crime threats affecting the UK, including the threat to the UK economy from money laundering. According to the report, serious and organised crime is costing the economy at least £24bn every year, which also damages communities, […]
Forensic Accountants can investigate offshore trust assets
25 Apr 2014The ongoing and increasingly bitter divorce between aviation tycoon Clive Joy and his wife Nichola has highlighted how forensic accountants can put offshore trust assets under the microscope. A court in London heard earlier this month that Clive Joy, whose fortune was once put at £69m, is now pleading poverty in defending a massive financial […]
Shareholders In The News – 14 April 2014
14 Apr 2014The European Commission has just published plans to give the shareholders of publicly quoted companies greater involvement in executive pay policies but what happens in smaller firms when shareholders fall out amongst themselves? The best option for them would be to engage a firm of forensic accountants, as disputes can arise over matters such as […]
Forensic Accountancy Made Famous
04 Apr 2014Once only spoken of in the business world or high profile divorce cases, forensic accountancy has now become so ‘mainstream’ that even scriptwriters on prime time TV can use the phrase, safe in the knowledge that the viewing public will know what the characters are talking about. Just this week on the BBC series Shetland, […]
Directors Who Fail To Keep Accurate Financial Records Face Bans
01 Apr 2014News earlier this month that a company director was disqualified from holding such a position for eight years for failing to keep full and accurate books and records should be a warning that acting in this manner will always be uncovered through a financial investigation by forensic accountants. When a company fails, it is investigated […]
When Marriages And Businesses Collide
24 Mar 2014Earlier this year a wife won the first round in a bitter divorce after 43 years of marriage, claiming that her “old-fashioned” husband wanted to favour their son over their daughters when it came to sharing out the family business interests. Susan Shield won her £50m case in the High Court after a judge ruled […]
Proceeds Of Crime Auctioned Off
14 Mar 2014South Yorkshire Police and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are organising an auction next week of jewellery seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, in a bid to claw back some of the £26m a man and his associates made through tax evasion. The jewellery, which was seized at the time of the man’s arrest, […]
Pre-Nups Could Protect Women From ‘Predatory’ Men In Divorce
04 Mar 2014As proposals from the Law Commission on the implementation of binding pre-nuptial agreements are put before the Government, a Peer has called for a law to allow couples to settle the terms of their divorce, in a bid to stop men marrying wealthy women and then running off with a large share of their wealth. […]
Delighted Defence – 25 Feb 2014
25 Feb 2014Forensic accountants working on behalf of property tycoons Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz will no doubt be delighted following a Court of Appeal ruling that liquidators working for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) must disclose documents relating to a record £300m claim brought by the brothers against the SFO. The brothers’ defence team have alleged for […]
Witnesses For The Defence – 17 Feb 2014
17 Feb 2014If ever anyone needed expert witnesses on their side, it must be the Infanta Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, who appeared in court last weekend to face questions over an alleged financial scandal involving her husband, the Duke of Palma. Inaki Urdangarin has already been charged with fraud, tax evasion, falsifying documents […]
Experts at finding evidence – 10 Feb 2014
10 Feb 2014Forensic accountants have been in the news recently, as their expert services have been used by supermarkets which fear that they have overpaid suppliers in the past and need proof of transactions going back as far as six years. However, when describing the supermarkets’ policy, the Groceries Code Adjudicator seems to see it as a […]
More Money Needed To Combat Defence’s Forensic Accountants – 3 Feb 2014
03 Feb 2014The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has this week asked the Government for more money to help it press on with its cases against people and firms it suspects of serious financial misconduct. The SFO’s budget has fallen from £52m to £28m this year but it has the power to ask for extra ‘blockbuster’ funding when […]
Fraud Down Last Year – 24 Jan 2014
24 Jan 2014The analysis of fraud trends during 2013 by the UK's Fraud Prevention Service (CIFAS) reveals that, overall, fraud levels decreased in 2013 by 11 per cent from the levels recorded in 2012, the first year on year drop since 2010, but they remain at a much higher rate than in pre-recessionary times. The decrease, however, suggests […]
Ecclestone To Face Trial In Germany – 20 January 2014
20 Jan 2014The fact that Bernie Ecclestone is back in the news over the sale of part of his F1 empire is a reminder that company valuations must be transparent. In addition to now facing a trial in Germany in April, the 83-year-old is currently awaiting a High Court judge’s ruling in a separate £90m civil claim […]
Forensic Accountants Aid Settlement – 9 January 2014
09 Jan 2014Forensic accountants often only make the headlines when they uncover vast amounts of hidden money, such as when they pulled £45m of assets out of bankrupt former tycoon Scot Younger’s ‘hat’ in his bitter divorce hearing. However, when two parties fail to reach an agreement in a commercial dispute, which could be anything from a […]
Demand For Forensic Accountants – 6 January 2014
06 Jan 2014The Financial Times pointed out in an article this month that accounting fraud remains “one of the most critical and prevalent issues facing the financial industry”, and highlighted the need for forensic accountancy in suspected cases and regular forensic auditing to keep on top of complex finances. Forensic accountants work in financial hubs across the […]
Taxman Cracking Down – 12 November 2013
13 Dec 2013With the taxman cracking down increasingly on evasion and fraud, the chances are that more businesses than ever could be caught up in the investigation net, even those that have not necessarily done anything wrong. If this happens to a business owner and they are accused of tax fraud, the first action should be to […]
Forensic Accountants Needed To Unravel Complex Finance – 25 November 2013
13 Dec 2013Lawyers acting for the ex-wife of former tycoon Scot Young have had to engage the services of an experienced forensic accountant as the best means of proving that he actually does have the money to pay the settlement she is seeking. Mr Young, who was jailed earlier this year for “flagrant and deliberate” contempt of […]
Obvious Assets That Can’t Be Found – 26 November 2013
13 Dec 2013A judge has slammed prosecutors who have been unable to find luxury cars, including a Ferrari Spider and Bentley Continental, despite the fact that, as he said, they are “probably being driven around Mayfair”. Speaking in the confiscation case of a jailed drugs baron in London yesterday (November 21), Nicholas Evans asked the prosecutors to […]
Investigative Accountants Find Missing £40m – 3 December 2013
13 Dec 2013An investigative team working on behalf of the ex-wife of former ‘fixer’ Scott Young have found sufficient evidence of a fortune of £45m that a judge was able to award Michelle Young £20m in a ruling that is a culmination of a bitter legal battle over Mr Young’s fortune. However, Mrs Young is said to […]
Forensic Accountants Stay Ahead Of The Game – 13 December 2013
13 Dec 2013With new apps and software updates coming out all the time, it is no surprise that the world of forensic accounting, which relies increasingly on technology to make its investigations, is also making full use of the advances. A whole range of crimes can use digital forensic methods to prove innocence or secure a conviction, […]
Forensic Accountants Unearthed Original Anomalies – 6 December 2013
13 Dec 2013It was announced this week that a further charge has been made against five people in connection with alleged fraudulent activity at welfare to work company A4E, where forensic accountants first found “systemic fraud” in 2009. A routine internal audit found evidence of staff claiming for putting people forward for jobs that did not exist or […]
Online Fraud On The Up – 29 October 2013
29 Oct 2013According to new research more than 230,000 frauds were recorded in England and Wales in the year to June, which represents an increase of more than a fifth on the previous 12 months and a 59 per cent increase in five years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that a further 316 frauds were […]