Libby Smith - Baker Tilly US

07/28/2022

Accounting – Why and When a Forensic Accountant Is Needed

Fraud Prevention
Organizations and corporations may use forensic accounting to try to prevent fraud from occurring in the first place. Early planning can help prevent a sequence of events from going into effect that would result in a customer or client committing fraud against the business. This type of case seeks to control a situation before something bad occurs.

Employee Fraud
Forensic accountants may be hired after a business suspects theft, fraud, or embezzlement. Employee fraud may occur because an employee is under financial pressure due to a divorce, gambling addiction, medical issue, or other issues. The employee may rationalize his or her behavior because he or she is not making the type of money that he or she wants or did not receive a wanted promotion. Many employees have the opportunity to steal from the company or embezzle funds. A thieving employee may have been in a position for trust for many years and may know where the vulnerabilities of a business are and how to exploit these vulnerabilities.

A forensic accountant may analyze the data-retention policy to determine how information is stored. They may make recommendations regarding how to modify these policies to better protect the interests of the business so that the data can be recovered in a meaningful way. Forensic accountants can utilize this data to investigate into the financial transactions. It can be difficult to get all of the information that is necessary for a case when data is stored on multiple computers, multiple servers and across various platforms.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.hgexperts.com/expert-witness-articles/accounting-why-and-when-a-forensic-accountant-is-needed-42094 #:~:text=Forensic%20accountants%20may%20be%20hired,medical%20issue%20or%20other%20issue

Forensic accounting is a specialized form of accounting that is conducted by an expert in a particular field. It can be used in many applications and consists of a wide array of activities. The forens

07/15/2022

Why Every Business Owner Needs a Valuation

Even if you are not ready to sell, every business owner needs a valuation. A detailed and thorough business valuation provides vital information that business owners can use to guide future planning. The average privately held business changes every 7-10 years. Whether you are looking to sell now, or several years from now, it is crucial to know what your business is worth today so that you can adequately plan for the future. Most business owners have between 65-90% of their net worth tied to their business, making it their largest asset. That asset is the result of years of sleepless nights, long hours, and hopefully rewarding results. Someday, inevitably, you will decide that the time is right to sell it.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.vikingmergers.com/blog/2020/every-business-owner-needs-valuation/

This is a question we hear all too often; if I’m not ready to sell, why do I need a business valuation?

06/03/2022

The Role of Forensic Accountants in Detecting Fraud in Business Interruption Claims

Business interruption claims are generally closely scrutinized by insurance carriers and can range from thousands of dollars, to claims exceeding $100 million. Insurance carriers often seek the assistance of either internal or external forensic accountants to analyze such claims. During their analys...

05/28/2022

The Role of Forensic Accountants

https://quickreadbuzz.com/2022/05/25/financial-forensics-driskell-davis-the-role-of-forensic-accountants/

05/18/2022

Libby Smith has more than 30 years of experience in providing forensic accounting, litigation consulting and expert witness testimony in the areas of financial investigations, economic damages, business valuation, breach of contract, complex accounting and shareholder disputes. She has served as a court appointed receiver to manage ongoing business activity and to carry out the winding down of business affairs.

She is well known for Forensic Accounting, Marital Dissolution (Divorce Accounting), Business Valuation, Shareholder & Partner Disputes, Fraud Investigation, and Damages for Complex Commercial Litigation. Libby is a certified public accountant (CPA), holds three certifications in business valuation (ASA, ABV, ASA) and holds two certifications in Fraud investigations (CFE and CFF).