DUE DILIGENCE, COMPLIANCE AND INVESTIGATION

We all have decades of experience in private practice as Chartered Accountants, in the fields of banking and corporate finance and also running a wide range of businesses. Using this real world experience, we are comfortable asking the necessary questions face-to-face and diving into a company's financial accounting on behalf of our clients.

We then report clearly what we find using straightforward understandable language - and also we mention what we have not seen, which can sometimes be more illuminating.

By choice, we are not a statutory audit firm but we apply our blend of forensic accounting and practical business experience to assess the subject company's financial performance and accounting.  

In recent years, our team members have been engaged by international clients (or their external lawyers) in the following example situations, which is a very small selection:

  1. Joint Venture investigation - compliance with a JV agreement
    Our Middle Eastern client company, asked us to visit their Swiss JV entity to interview its staff and review, investigate and test the accounts and accounting.  Our report to our client's Board of Directors was used in non-legal discussions between the JV partner companies, and arrived at a commercial, mutually satisfactory financial resolution.  Lawyers were not involved in any stage of the assignment. 
     

  2. Banking compliance - contractual / transactions
    Our Private Client engaged us to carry out a detailed, open ended, review of transactions in their private banks in Geneva and Zürich.  Our work was carried out in the banks' premises, so as to preserve confidentiality and security of the documentation and records; and also to allow for regular interviews with key bank staff and management.  Our written report and briefings face to face and by telephone ultimately resulted in meetings, attended by us, in which our client's case was explained (and evidenced) in detail to the bankers.  A satisfactory resolution was achieved for our client.    
     

  3. Retail business - suspected employee fraud
    A company asked their local fiduciaire firm to carry out a financial review in their headquarters.  We were brought in by the fiduciaire as specialists and we worked onsite as one team: interviewing staff; investigating systems and records; and thereafter reporting in writing and face-to-face.  Accounting system improvements were recommended. 
     

  4. NGO field office - suspected employee fraud  / spending impact assessment
    We travelled to an Eastern European country office, to interview staff and review records onsite.  We also spent time offsite, in the field, to personally see impact evidence of actions paid for according to the accounting records.  Our written report - and our presence onsite at the field office - were well received by the NGO head office compliance management team.