CPA · Certified Fraud Examinerroddgoldman@goldman-cpa.comVirgin Islands office
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Forensic & Disputes

Fraud Examination

Suspecting fraud inside your own company is disorienting. A fraud examination replaces suspicion with evidence: what happened, how, for how long, who was involved and what it cost. The work is led by a Certified Fraud Examiner and built to hold up with your attorney, your insurer and, if it comes to it, law enforcement.

What we investigate

Most internal fraud follows a small number of patterns. We know where each one leaves a trace in the records.

  • Employee embezzlement and skimming
  • Vendor and billing schemes, including fictitious vendors and kickbacks
  • Payroll fraud: ghost employees, unauthorized raises, falsified hours
  • Expense-reimbursement abuse and company-card misuse
  • Financial-statement manipulation

How an examination runs

Each stage is designed so the evidence is preserved, the analysis is defensible and nobody is tipped off before they should be.

  • Confidential intake to define the question and the scope
  • Preservation of records before anyone is alerted
  • Transaction-level data analysis, traced to source documents
  • Interviews, guided by what the documents show
  • A written report of findings
  • Recovery support: insurance claims, restitution and referral

What you receive

A clear written report that sets out the scheme, the supporting evidence and the measured loss, in a form your attorney and insurer can use. Findings are stated as facts and evidence; conclusions about guilt are for the courts.

The first 48 hours matter

If you suspect something now: do not confront the person, do not start deleting or moving files, and limit who knows. Call your attorney and call us. Early preservation is often the difference between a provable case and a suspicion.

Questions

Common questions

Should I confront the person I suspect?

No. Confrontation before the records are secured gives someone the chance to destroy evidence or cover their tracks. Talk to your attorney and to us first.

Will the investigation be confidential?

Yes. We limit who knows about the engagement, and when appropriate the engagement can be structured through your attorney.

Can your report support an insurance claim?

That is one of its main uses. The report documents the scheme and quantifies the loss in the way crime and fidelity insurers generally expect to see it.

What does a Certified Fraud Examiner add?

The CFE credential is specific to fraud prevention, detection and investigation, on top of the accounting training a CPA brings. You get someone who reads the books and knows how schemes are built to hide in them.

Talk to a partner.

A short call to see whether we’re the right fit. No obligation.