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Forensic Accounting Services

Detect. Stop. Prevent.

Protect Against Fraud

The Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse cites that most frauds last a median of 18 months before being detected. It can be difficult for the lay person to detect and quantify fraud. That’s why we’re here.

Cost Advisors has been helping attorneys and companies detect, stop and prevent fraud for more than a decade. Our forensic accounting consultants are critical thinkers who can:

  • Identify the perpetrators and the methods they use
  • Quantify the extent of the fraud
  • Collect evidence to dismiss and/or prosecute the perpetrator
  • Implement preventative controls

Increasingly, our clients require expert computer forensic services to collect, analyze and present digital legal evidence. Using specialized processes and tools, we can discover and preserve electronic evidence so that it is admissible in court. Our forensic experts leverage broad technology experience and best practices to:

  • Recover lost data
  • Discover hidden data
  • Make mirror copies of hard drives and other storage media
  • Crack passwords
  • Analyze Internet usage
  • Determine event timelines

Our proven framework ensures success

Our clients count on us for proficient, high-quality project management skills that are rooted in a consistent and reliable framework. Based on five key principles—Governance, Assessment, Prevention, Detection and Correction—this framework allows us to look at all sides of a problem, explore root causes and use a feedback loop to improve the process. It also ensures we address all of our client work in the most thorough and cost-efficient manner.

Our Services:
Confidential & Insightful

  • Investigating the scope of the fraud
  • Interviewing witnesses and perpetrators
  • Analyzing and interpreting financial statements
  • Documenting internal controls and procedures
  • Testifying as expert witnesses
  • Preparing detailed reports for use in court or in settlements
  • Evaluating current fraud risk management programs
  • Creating new fraud risk management programs

Our Tools:
Efficient & Accurate

We can review recorded transactions and identify errors or fraud efficiently using dozens of queries in our proprietary data-mining software, Reperio®. Reperio can test every transaction for the likelihood of fraud in areas such as Accounts Payable, Payroll and Revenue.

 

Fraud Governance

An organization’s governance structure should lay the groundwork for its fraud risk management program. We can establish:

  • Board practices
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Fraud control policies and strategies
  • A whistleblower process

Fraud Assessment

Periodically assessing your risk of exposure to fraud is essential to prevention. Our consultants are skilled at:

  • Process mapping
  • Vulnerability identification
  • Risk evaluation

Fraud Prevention

We can educate staff about fraud risk and implement controls that halt losses before they occur. Our expertise in this area includes:

  • Hiring and HR procedures
  • Employee training
  • Internal controls

Fraud Detection

These days, fraud detection techniques are a business imperative. Should your preventive measures fail, our detection measures are likely to identify fraud:

  • Computer forensic analysis
  • Detective controls
  • Analytical review
  • Data mining using our proprietary software, Reperio®
  • Continuous monitoring
  • Vendor contract fraud

Fraud Correction

Our investigation and evidence collection procedures correct potential fraud and improve loss recovery. Our consultants can provide:

  • Economic damages calculations
  • Detailed scheme reporting
  • Allegation response
  • Legal testimony