When do you know you Need Investigative Services?
When you need a business expert to find out what happened, and why it happened ! You don’t have to be a “movie star” to have a big “studio” short you on the money they owe you. You are more likely to want to find out why someone close to home did something they should not have done with your money. Organizations often need to know “Are my financial statements right ?“ and also “Why are they not right ? “
Why a Forensic MBA, and not a Forensic CPA ? CPAs are much more focused on accounting and the rules of accounting. Many CPAs are almost Ph.D.s in their fields. A Forensic MBA has a much broader focus and a broader set of experiences. An MBA with business experience has often had to be responsible for actually producing results, not just financial statements.
But clever interviewing is the real skill that separates the CPAs from the MBAs.Just like television’s Detective Columbo, asking disarming questions is the first step in finding out what really happened in a business situation. The interviewing is almost always pointed at getting the “suspect” to either lie, or to tell the truth, about their own documents. By either course of action, the “suspect” ultimately points out the real facts of the situation, and thus a very close version of the truth.
In our document intensive society and culture, a real villain usually forgets to “cook the books” from the very beginning. Sometimes, he even forgets to go back and “doctor” the financial statements as needed. When perceptive interviewing is applied to documentation, the clues of every impropriety almost always rise to the surface
You may need a Forensic MBA in the following situations –
- Estimating losses and economic damages
- Uncovering fraud in your organization or family
- Finding weaknesses in your own position, or your own case in litigation
- Using opposition research on opponents, competitors and malefactors
Cost control is a critical part of every corporate or family investigation. You are never asked to make long-term commitments, and you may want to buy time in hourly blocks, with evaluations at regular intervals. In some cases, a retainer may better meet your needs. When we can jointly develop a clear “spec” sheet, you will enjoy a fixed, not-to-exceed cost for the investigation.
