Post: Finding Litigation Support Services in Houston

Litigation support comes in many forms, but if you’re partnered with an experienced forensic accounting professional, this is what you can expect:

• • Financial data collection and organization – Forensic accounting experts work to identify the financial information needed to support the client’s litigation. This may include tax returns, invoices, bank statements and payroll data.
    
    To secure this vital info, forensic accounting professionals can work with legal teams to secure litigation hold notices that ensure all relevant communications, databases and financial sheets are attained. All case-relevant information is processed and its metadata preserved for additional analysis.
    
    Every piece of evidence is passed into a secure chain of custody. This includes proper evidence intake procedures, transfer procedures and retention/destruction policies. The goal is to ensure all evidence is admissible and ready to support the case.
    
    
  • Transaction analysis – Forensic accounting professionals are experts in transaction analysis, and this is where most of the work is done when supporting litigation. During transaction analysis, forensic accounting experts will chart all relevant accounts and categorize them for easy review.
    
    During transaction analysis, your forensic accounting team will chart trends and look for any anomalies using proven accounting techniques, such as Benford’s Law or checking for unusual round-sums as these may point to fraudulent activity. Further, forensic accounting experts will perform link analysis when reviewing accounts, which is used to map out who is connected to what accounts, revealing entities like shell companies. This analysis can also reveal links to the account that would otherwise be difficult to uncover. For instance, link analysis can trace funds moving through multiple stops, like shell entities, subsidiaries, trusts and personal accounts.
    
    
  • Damage calculations – Part of the litigation support process is determining what damages occurred as a result of fraudulent or criminal activity. The goal for forensic accounting experts is to determine how any unauthorized activity affected the organization’s finances or profitability.
    
    Damage calculations may be performed using one of several methods, depending on the nature of any fraudulent activity and its ongoing impact on the organization. For example, a forensic accounting expert may benchmark the company’s profitability prior to the unauthorized activity and use this to compare to the company’s performance following it. This can reveal the extent of any financial damages.
    
    Other damage calculation methods include the before-and-after method and modeling, both of which use the company’s prior performance and projected future performance to calculate the extent of any losses.
    
    
  • Expert report and deposition development – Litigation support teams communicate their findings in the form of expert reporting. These reports should be clearly formatted and written, with important findings appropriately highlighted in the text. Many forensic accounting professionals integrate visuals into their reports to improve clarity further.