Forensic Accounting Articles

In M&A transactions, disputes sometimes arise over contractual purchase price adjustments, representations and warranties, earnout provisions, or alleged misrepresentations by the seller.

Due diligence is a critical part of the merger and acquisition process — and one key area of concern is fraud risk. Financial statement manipulation can sometimes make the target appear more valuable than it really is. 

In many litigation contexts — such as marital dissolutions and fraud investigations — one party may have a financial incentive to hide personal assets or income. Identifying and quantifying these undisclosed or underreported items can be challenging. 

Forensic investigations almost inevitably require documentary evidence to be examined.

Estimating lost profits isn’t always cut and dried. It’s important to look behind the numbers for signs that they might have been manipulated or falsified.

Courts tend to prefer the market approach in business valuation, because it’s based on real-world “comparable” transactions.