Forensic Services

Fraud and corruption are some of the biggest and most damaging risks businesses face. The headlines are full of organisations both in the private and public sectors affected by fraud, irregularity or other wrongdoing – either as a victim or the accused. The impact can be substantial. Apart from financial losses, organisations face reputational damage, disbarment from tendering, and penalties etc.

Our international investigations team has extensive experience of working on a wide range of complex cross-border investigations in multiple jurisdictions as well as industries, including some of the most high-profile prominent cases ever conducted. We work alongside in-house and external counsel, carry out internal or regulator-mandated investigations, and frequently support audit teams to assist them in understanding red flags and issues that occur during their work.

Explore more

Our Forensic Technology team helps clients manage vast amounts of electronic data and navigate the legal and business processes that are mandated by critical events. Forensic technology is key to determining the facts and identifying misconduct. Electronic Discovery (eDiscovery) techniques can quickly identify key information from huge, unstructured data populations. In combination with structured data analysis, we can identify patterns and trends to accelerate the resolution of the legal matter and solve problems for our clients.

Our Forensic Technology team follows the guidelines of the internationally accepted Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) and our internal Global PwC eDiscovery Framework. We collect electronically stored information (ESI) from any device using tools and methods that are designed to withstand external scrutiny and make evidence defensible in court. Once collected, the team processes the data on their purpose-built, independent and off-line data centre. Processing converts raw data into a format that can be interpreted and analysed by the machine. Analysis is then performed in a document review platform, if needed with the use of machine learning (e.g. technology assisted review).

Explore more

Organisations are increasingly looking at emerging markets – think joint ventures, mergers/acquisitions, export markets and cost reduction. But with the world of opportunity comes a level of uncertainty. Accurate and reliable information is key to conducting business successfully. Companies that operate internationally need intelligence: this means factual information to help you understand the political, economic, environmental and regulatory changes in unfamiliar places and how they'll affect economic developments.

Our team is specialised in ‘screening’ individuals and entities, including third-party and KYC-enhanced due diligence, checking the economic status of third parties, checking third parties for ESG risks or checking the relevance of business partners. Furthermore, we verify employees for crucial positions, conduct political and economic market and risk analyses and company fact books. Asset tracing, monitoring for discrediting media and building screening functions into business processes are part of our offering too, to promote transparency.

Even when companies have controls in place to detect economic crime, these can often be rendered ineffective by management override or collusion. We help organisations take preventative steps to limit their exposure to fraud and establish a process to manage such a crisis, should one occur. These include conducting fraud risk assessments, designing and implementing employee awareness testing or reviewing your code of ethics and whistleblower programme in relation to best practices. We assist you with your fraud awareness training, review your incident reporting mechanism for effectiveness or review your investigation and remediation protocols in relation to best practices.

Audit fraud support
Auditors are required to conduct engagement with a mindset that recognises the possibility that a material misstatement due to fraud could be present under ISA 240. We support audit teams in their audit planning activities in reviewing fraud-related testing and strategy to be undertaken during the audit.

Explore more

Disputes between companies can be enormously complex. We help clients to investigate, assess and prepare for all forms of litigation and alternate dispute resolution claims, working closely with them at each stage of the dispute resolution process to:

• conduct an early case assessment and develop the strategy
• value and quantify damage, lost profits and opportunities
• prepare detailed economic and market analysis
• investigate accounting and tax issues relating to claims
• provide expert reports and testimony.

Each crisis is different, has different impacts and can advance rapidly or build and unfold over time. We support our clients through some of the most challenging situations when facing a crisis and also understand that for business leaders the impacts of a crisis can be felt months and even years after it has happened. Organisations that integrate enterprise risk management (ERM) into their strategic planning efforts have found that business continuity management (BCM) enhances both their value creation objectives and their protection objectives. The confidence that comes from identifying and appropriately addressing interruption risks enables them to more boldly execute those strategic plans.

Explore more

Intellectual property (IP) in the form of patents, trademarks and copyright is often a company's greatest asset and essential for maintaining the value of its business. Many companies have begun to understand the importance of extracting the maximum value from their IP in terms of managing licensing and other contractual arrangements. We help our clients uncover underreported revenues due to a variety of reasons with the primary drivers being clerical errors, accounting mistakes or contract misunderstandings.

Explore more

Preventing, detecting and responding to financial crime risk is rapidly evolving into one of financial services firms’ biggest challenges, whereby the impact of any negative incident extends beyond monetary losses to reputation, employee morale and potential regulatory censure. The PwC team applies lessons learned from investigating financial crime incidents and data analysis to support clients with developing their anti-financial crime systems, controls and processes. We work closely with our PwC forensic blockchain experts to help clients manage financial crime and reputational risks associated with digital assets.

Explore more

Our forensic blockchain experts help clients manage financial crime and reputational risks associated with digital assets and other blockchain-based applications. From prospect onboarding and source of wealth corroboration to fraud and financial crime investigations, our experienced team uses proprietary analytics technology to find the facts our clients are looking for.

Explore more