When the numbers don't make sense — cash missing, vendors that don't exist, related parties everywhere — you need answers, not audits. A forensic audit investigates financial misconduct like an investigation, not a compliance exercise: evidence gathered, trails followed, findings documented to a standard that holds up in court.
A forensic audit is an independent investigation into suspected financial misconduct — fraud, fund diversion, embezzlement, financial statement manipulation, related-party siphoning. Unlike a statutory audit (which opines on financial statements), a forensic audit starts from suspicion and works backwards to evidence: following money trails, examining documents forensically, interviewing, and reconstructing what actually happened.
The output isn't an opinion — it's findings: what happened, how much, who was involved, and the evidence supporting each conclusion. Reports are written knowing they may be placed before the board, the police, the SFIO, or a court. That standard shapes everything about how the work is done.
Boards and promoters who suspect something — the cash that doesn't reconcile, the vendor nobody's met, the related-party transactions that don't make commercial sense, the whistleblower complaint that can't be ignored. Suspicion is enough to start; evidence is what we deliver.
Investors and lenders conducting pre-investment diligence where red flags emerged — the forensic review that either clears the concern or quantifies it before money goes in. And companies required to investigate: fraud reporting obligations under the Companies Act mean certain findings must be reported, and the investigation has to be proper.
Incoming management post-acquisition discovering the previous regime's arrangements. The first hundred days after a takeover are when skeletons surface — better found by your forensic team than by the auditor.
Allegation-driven investigation: fund trails through bank statements, vendor and customer verification, document examination, interview support. We follow the money wherever it goes — across entities, accounts, and years.
Mapping undisclosed related parties, testing arm's length, quantifying diversion. Related-party structures are where most Indian corporate fraud lives; we know the terrain.
Revenue and expense manipulation analysis, reserve games, related-party revenue — the techniques of statement fraud, tested against the books.
Findings with evidence chains: document, analysis, conclusion — each link documented. Reports structured for board action, regulatory filing, or legal proceedings.
Control failures identified, remediation designed, and the path to recovery mapped — because the investigation should end with the company stronger, not just informed.
Fixed-fee per investigation, scoped to the allegation's breadth — a single-vendor fraud and a multi-year diversion scheme are different assignments. Scoping is careful: too narrow misses the pattern, too wide wastes money.
Timelines: 4–12 weeks typical, depending on data availability and scope. Investigations can't be rushed — evidence work is methodical — but they can't drift either. We commit to a timetable and hold it.
Investigating loudly — asking the suspect's team for documents, discussing suspicions openly. Evidence gets destroyed in hours. Containment and sequencing are planned before the first document is pulled.
Investigating the one transaction flagged while the pattern runs across fifty. Fraud is rarely singular; the scope has to follow the evidence, not just the complaint.
Findings without evidence chains are allegations. Every conclusion traces to documents — or it doesn't go in the report. This discipline is what makes findings actionable.
Scope defined, data secured, access controlled. The investigation perimeter established quietly.
Document examination, fund trails, analysis. Evidence gathered methodically.
Findings with evidence chains, quantified, court-ready. Presented to the commissioning authority.
Control fixes, recovery options, regulatory obligations — the path forward.
Statutory audit opines on financial statements; forensic audit investigates suspected misconduct. Different objective, different methods, different standard of evidence.
Containment is planned. The investigation is conducted discreetly; disclosure is a strategic decision, not an accident.
It's built to be — evidence chains, documented methodology, independent investigators. We've written reports knowing exactly where they'd be placed.
Then you have an evidence-backed clean chit — which is itself valuable. Not every suspicion is misconduct; clearing the air has worth.
To whoever commissions us — typically the board or audit committee, not the management under investigation. Independence is structural.
Completely. Investigations are conducted under strict confidentiality protocols, with access on a need-to-know basis.
Four to twelve weeks depending on scope and data availability. Rushing forensics compromises evidence — we won't compress what shouldn't be compressed.
A scoped fixed fee — typically ₹3–15 lakh for mid-market investigations. The scope defines the cost; we define the scope precisely before starting.
We trace and document the trail; recovery runs through legal proceedings built on our findings. The report is the ammunition, not the weapon.
Often yes — but it's a legal decision with employment-law consequences. We advise; employment counsel executes. Botched suspensions create the second crisis.
Talk to a partner about your situation — no pitch, no obligation. If we're not the right firm for it, we'll tell you that too.
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