FRA

Forensic Risk Alliance

Accounting, Audit and Regulatory Advisory

FRA’s market leading regulatory and audit advisory services team offers expert guidance to companies, executives and public accounting firms ranging in size from sole proprietorships to global network firms. We leverage decades of combined experience of our professionals and forensic accounting, data analytics and investigations experts to help clients address their most complex accounting, auditing and regulatory issues, and respond to white collar criminal defense matters, litigation and regulators’ actions. Our team includes a deep bench of former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) officials, and certified public accountants with “Big Four” audit experience, including former audit partners and National Office leaders. Our global presence, cross-border experience, and multilingual team, allow us to take our expertise world-wide.

We provide a range of services, including forensic accounting and investigations and technical accounting, internal controls, auditing and regulatory advice to help financial executives and accounting industry clients around the world to respond to litigation and regulatory action, and to mitigate and resolve risk. Our professionals have extensive experience evaluating compliance with reporting in accordance with the books-and-records and internal controls provisions of the US federal securities laws and in assisting clients with financial restatements. We are highly skilled, independent consultants with proven experience successfully working alongside stakeholders at all levels, as well as with the regulators themselves, to provide independent, credible analysis of a range of accounting and auditing issues.

We are uniquely positioned to provide services as a monitor or independent consultant, where we apply proven methodologies derived from hands-on experiences such as serving as the co-monitor for a Big Four international affiliate’s remediation of its quality control system and other areas in response to a PCAOB sanction. We review and evaluate compliance with regulatory requirements, required undertakings and remedial measures, and can serve as a consulting resource to other third party monitors or independent consultants. Because our team includes former regulators, we are able to offer unparalleled insight into how to effectively address SEC, DOJ, PCAOB and other regulatory and government inquiries.

Our seasoned team includes experienced testifying and consulting expert witnesses, who regularly consult, prepare and submit expert reports, and provide testimony on topics including technical accounting and financial statement disclosure; and technical auditing standards and independence rules and standards.

What Makes Us Different

White Collar Defense and Professional Liability

FRA is highly skilled at helping companies, executives and public accounting firms respond to regulators’ investigations and navigate and defend against challenges when they arise, including in white collar defense and professional liability and accountant malpractice matters. Our team of former SEC and PCAOB regulators recommends strategies to respond to regulators’ investigations, inquiries and subpoenas; independently assesses issues; recommends the best approaches for, and assists with, preparing responses to PCAOB charging letters and SEC Wells notices, as well as with communications with regulators regarding accounting, audit and independence issues; and acts as expert witnesses. We are also able to help clients prepare for and support interviews, depositions and testimonies. Our team is known in the industry for providing credible, independent analysis, and has extensive experience successfully presenting our findings to regulators, including PCAOB, SEC, DOJ, UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and other regulators.

Audit and Regulatory Advisory

FRA’s team of former PCAOB and SEC accountants and Big Four auditors, including National Office leaders, offers expert advisory services to public accounting firms on audit and regulatory issues. We work with stakeholders to prepare for inspections by audit regulators, assist in responding to inspectors’ questions, and advise on remediation of inspection findings, including findings for engagement-level inspection results and firm-wide systems of quality control. We also perform independent assessments of the quality of audits by reviewing audit work papers and offering independent analysis of accounting and auditing issues. We provide independent reviews and assessments of firm-wide systems of quality controls and policies and procedures, root cause analysis of quality control deficiencies, assistance with developing quality control improvement plans and training on firm-wide systems of quality controls. We are uniquely positioned to provide services as a monitor or independent consultant for public accounting firms in response to regulators’ sanctions, where we apply proven methodologies derived from hands-on experience serving as a PCAOB-appointed co-monitor.

Financial Statement Misstatements, Inadequate Disclosures and Restatements

FRA’s team has extensive experience leading forensic accounting investigations for financial reporting matters and financial accounting restatements. Our work includes analyzing financial statement misstatements and inadequate financial statement disclosures and determining financial restatement adjustments. We work with boards of directors, audit committees, regulators, management, legal counsel and other stakeholders to provide independent analysis of accounting and auditing issues and internal controls, and respond to regulators’ subpoenas and requests. We are uniquely positioned to help clients analyze misstatements and disclosures and reconstruct books and records; assess complex accounting areas and internal controls; prepare for, conduct and support interviews; and present findings and explain restatement entries to key stakeholders, including audit committees, management and auditors. Our team provides end-to-end solutions including forensic accounting, eDiscovery and document review, and data analytics.

Technical Accounting and Auditing

FRA provides independent analysis of the application of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), international financial reporting standards (IFRS), and auditing and independence standards promulgated by the PCAOB, the SEC, and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). We are particularly well positioned to provide independent technical accounting expertise in the context of litigation, internal investigations and white collar defense matters. We help clients interpret complex accounting and auditing standards and auditor independence rules and make recommendations.

Independent Internal Controls Assessment and Remediation

We are experts in assessing the effectiveness of internal control systems, and can assist in all stages of control issues, from evaluations to proactive measures through remediation and monitoring. Our team of former internal and external auditors, with specific experience with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act section 404 and in COSO, COBIT, and other internal control frameworks, performs internal controls effectiveness reviews and can uncover controls that are not effectively designed and provide improvement recommendations. We can assist with identification and assessment of internal controls, identifying gaps in the existing control framework, electronic data analysis and support, periodic testing of the effectiveness of controls through transaction testing, benchmarking controls to best practices, preparation of control documentation and interviews of relevant company gatekeepers.

Our Team

Stacy Fresch, forensic accountant
Stacy Fresch, Partner
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Weng Yee Ng, Director
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Charlie Patrick
Charlie Patrick, Partner
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MRees
Matthew Rees, Director
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Carmen Leal
Carmen Leal, Associate Director
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