Dealing with matters of i) corporate governance, ii) unauthorized transactions, iii) whistleblower claims, and iv) related party transactions. The learning points will include: Remote interviewing Online investigative practices Value-added services Professional practices and ethical standards Dealing with company boards and investors • Changes in risks emanating from the evolving hybrid workplace environment • The importance of whistleblower hotlines in today’s remote workplace environment / corporate governance models • The receipt, review and interpretation of anonymous tips from whistleblower hotlines • Developing and executing effective investigation plans from tips received through whistleblower hotlines, particularly in the shifting ‘paperless’ workplace environment • Protections afforded to whistleblowers and ramifications to organizations for retaliatory actions • Case studies of how whistleblower hotlines have helped organizations mitigate fraud risk while increasing communication and transparency

Best practices when you are the 3rd appraiser or an expert in a litigation matter. How to identify the key differences and most importantly, the impact from differences and the best manner in which to communicate those differences.

Interactive session with attorney and FVS professional. Discussion points include (1) retention of expert (attorney v. client), (2) discovery demands and process, (3) client meetings and subsequent interactions, (4) who stays on top of whom (lawyer leading or forensic leading), (5) business owner interviews (attendance, selecting appropriate stage in litigation, format and reliance on information), (6) preliminary schedules (when does an expert have “enough” to “start a negotiation process"), (7) practice management (billing and collecting of fees).

This large internal fraud investigation commenced upon receipt of an anonymous complaint indicating that senior management of the company was inappropriately involved with a number of vendors and asking that accountants look into how much money had been paid to these undisclosed related parties. This letter triggered the initiation of a large international investigation involving the creation and utilization of a multitude of related party companies, which had received huge payments from the company. This ongoing investigation was made more complex because the company and its publicly traded parent were audited by separate big accounting firms.

Using two extraordinary case studies, your panel of seasoned Chapter 11 Financial Advisors will steer you through their recent work for the Easterday Ranches Chapter 11 Unsecured Creditors Committee, at a loss of $250 million (and 180,000 missing cattle), the largest cattle fraud case in U.S. History; and shine some sunlight on the $2 billion Ponzi scheme DC Solar Chapter 11s, the biggest fraud case in the history of the DOJ Eastern District of California, generating a 30-year prison sentence for the principal and six other plea agreements—including the company’s outside CPA.

Using a case study of the Charbonneau Commission in Quebec, I explain how we used advanced analytics including correlation analyses and regressions, as well as best practice visualization techniques and other statistics to identify vendors who had been colluding to win contracts at an inflated price. I will also cover how conventional techniques such as applications of Benford’s Law can be modified in order to identify actual fraudulent behaviour rather than yielding a significant amount of false positives (or false negatives).

Developing techniques to stop fraud before it starts through education, ethics training, and preventative measures.

So you've been hired to testify about damages. But, the alleged harm involves a misrepresentation and your client's claim is that he/she would not have proceeded with the agreement. Should you calculate lost profits? If not, what should you do? This session will explore these questions and provide insights about reliable ways to present reliance damages.

In real estate and Marketable Securities entities, we start with the Fair market value of the individual real estate and securities to estimate the value. However, if two different entities have different cost basis, it can have a dramatic impact on the after-tax cash flow for the investment. This presentation will discuss how this can impact the value of a gift in a real estate entity and how it can be factored into a valuation.

The wild world of crypto - including NFTs, crypto assets, stablecoins, smart contracts – has introduced a new class of digitally-based assets that continue to cause a stir for professionals, regulators, and litigators alike. Understanding, and reconciling, how “on-and-off chain” data works together will be increasingly important to address many unanswered questions such as crypto-based accounting, asset classification, appropriate regulation, and policy development.

This panel will explore the latest in the digital asset space, from OFAC-sanctioned crypto code to government investigations, and present considerations for those interested in learning about this rapidly-evolving industry.