Category: Forensics

Forensics

The Role of Forensic Accountants in Real Estate Litigation by Scott Bouchner, CMA, CVA, CFE, CIRA, and Fernando R. Diaz, MBA


Posted on December 11, 2024 by Scott Bouchner

Real estate litigation involving disputes over financial mismanagement, theft and fraud require detailed analysis of financial records using various techniques, tools, and computer software to uncover the facts and assist in a resolution. These reports and the expert testimony of forensic accountants are critical to helping attorneys build their cases. Financial malfeasance and fraud can […]

Florida Changes Rules for Equitable Distribution of Closely Held Business Interests in Divorces by Sandra Perez, CPA/ABV/CFF, CFE, and Dylan Stone, CPA, CVA


Posted on November 26, 2024 by Sandi Perez

On July 1, 2024, the State of Florida added Fla. Sta. §61.075(6)(a)1.f, which specifies how trial courts value a marital interest in closely held businesses for the purposes of equitable distribution in divorce proceedings. Significantly, the new law, also referred to as House Bill 521 (HB521), addresses the valuation of marital interests in closely held […]

Production of Financial Documents to Prove Economic Damages – How to Obtain the Documentary Support Needed to Prove Lost Profits? by Daniel S. Hughes, CPA/CFF/CGMA, CVA, and Richard S. Fechter, JD, CFE, CAMS


Posted on November 10, 2023 by Daniel Hughes

When my colleagues and I delivered a presentation to the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar about proving and defending claims of lost profits in commercial litigation matters, a Florida Judge asked a thought-provoking question: How many years of financial documents should a Plaintiff seeking economic damages be able to get (2 years, 3 […]

Forensic Accounting / Financial Investigations — New Regulations Hope to Provide Effective Tools to Identify Beneficial Owners by Richard S. Fechter, JD, CFE, CAMS


Posted on November 10, 2023 by Richard Fechter

Victims of crimes, law enforcement and other interested parties often retain forensic accountants to investigate financial crimes. These professionals have specialized multidisciplinary skills necessary to identify financial crimes, analyze the financial transactions constituting the overt acts of these crimes, and provide expert testimony on the methodologies criminals use and the damages victims incur. The critical […]

A Cautionary Tale About Expert Testimony in Damages Calculations by Joel Glick, CPA/CFF, CFE, CGMA


Posted on September 19, 2023 by Joel Glick

A Pennsylvania judge recently vacated a plaintiff’s $25 million damages award based on the plaintiff’s expert failure to provide at trial “a sufficient factual basis” for the numbers he relied on for calculating lost profits. Although the judge in Paramount Financial: Civil Action Communications, et al. v. Broadridge investor: Communications Solutions agreed with the jury’s […]

Florida Ends Permanent Alimony by Sandra Perez, CPA/ABV/CFF, CFE


Posted on July 05, 2023 by Sandi Perez

On June 30, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 1416, which brings significant changes to the state’s alimony laws, including eliminating permanent alimony from the statutes. The new law, which went into effect on July 1, 2023, applies to petitions for dissolution of marriage filed or pending on that date or […]

3 Methods for Calculating Lost Profits by Scott Bouchner, CMA, CVA, CFE, CIRA


Posted on June 13, 2023 by Scott Bouchner

The $787.5 million settlement recently reached between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News is historic for many reasons, including both parties’ ability to agree upon a payout amount just minutes before the trial was set to begin. In its initial suit, Dominion sought damages totaling $1.6 billion for Fox News’s false and defamatory statements that […]