Frequently Asked Questions

1. Get us involved in your project as early as possible, so that we are not scrambling at the last minute to get the information we need, can involve staff at appropriate levels and efficiently schedule our time on your project.
2. Give us your documents in an organized manner, e.g. statements for accounts organized by account (not by year) in chronological order, oldest to newest. This facilitates asset tracing.
3. Give us everything we ask for and only what we ask for – complete and without duplicates.
4. Same with phone calls and email correspondence. Try to address multiple issues at one time and try not to ask the same question multiple times.

In other words, be organized. If you are organized and efficient, it will help us to also work efficiently and keep your fees as low as possible.

Most of the retainer is refundable. We have a minimum charge for most engagements that is $1,000, so that if a client’s actual fees incurred are less than $1,000, we refund the amount in excess of the minimum charge. Retainers that are provided to us are kept on account until the end of the engagement and are applied to our final invoice. Any excess funds at the end of the project are returned to our clients.

We strive to provide exceptional service and value and we want you to be fully informed about our billing rates and policies. Current IAG Fee Schedule

All data and information disclosed to us and all documents and records reviewed by us with respect to the affairs of the parties to any suit will be disclosed solely for the purpose of permitting us to assist with the matters covered by our agreement. We actively work to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of all information received and will not disclose any such information to third parties without the written consent of the parties and their attorneys, unless legally compelled to so.

In cases involving litigation, we are usually hired by attorneys initially as consulting experts. As such, our work is protected by attorney-client privilege and under the attorney work product doctrine. As the case progresses toward trial, we may be declared as expert witnesses and our work may then be discoverable by the other party to the litigation.

The process usually progresses in three phases, although the phases may not be apparent to the client. Phase I is Assessment, where we determine the issues of the case, the type of information that is available to us, sources of information, and our scope of work.

Phase II is the Work phase, where we perform our actual analysis and Phase III is the Reporting phase, where we present the results of our work to the client, court, law enforcement, Board of Director or Trustees, and other parties. Each person and project is very important to us and our work plan is always customized based on the size of the case and the needs of the client.

The biggest advantages of hiring an experienced forensic accountant are 1) technical ability/qualifications 2) cost savings and 3) litigation experience. We are trained and experienced in the specialized area of financial investigation, plus we understand the legal process and have trial experience.

We are CPA’s and CFE’s and have the ability to trace, analyze and understand complex financial transactions. When we testify, we have credibility with judges and juries as an objective expert, rather than an interested party or an advocate. We are experienced at condensing and simplifying complex financial data for presentation in layman’s terms, which is a skill that many traditional CPA’s do not possess.