• Earned vs. Unearned Income in Divorce

    Lifestyle is not simply a measure of the past, present, and future spending of the parties jointly and individually. It requires an analysis of the funds available to pay for this lifestyle, and earned and unearned income usually generates those […]

  • The Attorney Can’t Write the Expert Report

    I never thought this was something we’d have to tell an expert witness: The attorney who retained you to provide your expert opinion can’t write your report for you. Attorneys often want to have input on the the expert’s report. […]

  • Blogging to Get Business

    Attorneys and accountants are told that they need to blog if they want to get clients. Blogs are a magic marketing tool. If you blog it they will come. It’s way more complicated than that. About 40% of my revenue […]

  • Is It “Creative Accounting” or Fraud?

    Companies engaged in financial statement fraud sometimes use creative phrases to legitimize or cover up what they’re doing. Examples include: Aggressive accounting – We’re following the rules, but pushing the limits to make the financial statements look as good as […]

  • How Credible Are Fraud Tips?

    Companies rely heavily on reports about questionable behavior from employees, customers, vendors, or other outside parties. Tips are the most common way that fraud is detected by companies, so any credible tip should be taken very seriously. How does a […]

  • Internal Records For a Fraud Investigation

    In a corporate fraud investigation, the most abundant source of information about the fraud will likely come from internal records of the company. Remember, of course, that the internal records will be not only be paper records, but will be […]

  • Work Programs in Fraud Investigations

    If you’re familiar with the process of a financial statement audit, you know all about audit work programs. They’re basically the checklists and guides that auditors use to make sure they follow all the required steps for auditing the financial […]

  • Jennifer McKinney Bankruptcy Round 2 and Round 3

    Yesterday my friends over at MckFacts informed me that our pal Jennifer McKinney was recently in bankruptcy court again. Back in 2012, Jennifer and her (soon-to-be ex-) husband Israel McKinney filed bankruptcy and eventually had it denied because of their […]

  • How Do I Calculate Fixed Fees

    How do I come up with a fixed fee for a forensic accounting engagement? I’ve been doing fixed fees for almost 23 years, so I’ve developed a pretty good formula. With a fixed fee, a client is paying for a […]

  • What’s the Big Deal About Financial Statement Fraud

    The manipulation of a company’s financial statements does not occur as often as asset misappropriation schemes like payroll fraud, check kiting, or inventory theft. And the losses from financial statement fraud aren’t readily apparent to most people. When money is […]