I qualified as a chartered accountant in 2000 and have specialised in forensic work since 2001. During this time I've worked on a wide range of forensic matters, including reactive and proactive investigations, and served as an expert accounting witness or adviser. Although I enjoy supporting clients across a range of sectors, I'm particularly interested in international development.
I have led proactive integrity reviews on behalf of one of the world’s largest development banks focused on investments in infrastructure, private equity, and multi-beneficiary intermediated loans. This involved working with other Grant Thornton International member firms across many different geographies in Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and the Middle East. These projects highlighted early warning signs associated with political interference, and fraud and corruption, as well as problems associated with money laundering and sanctions breaches.
Another example of this work is a wide-ranging investigation into the use of emergency procurement procedures on behalf of a global organisation focused on the delivery of infrastructure, procurement, and project management in challenging locations. Our work combined data analytics with corporate intelligence to identify high-risk hot spots. We then drilled into a sample of hot spots to get beneath the reasons why emergency procedures had been used, making recommendations for change and targeting investigative resources of fraud and corruption risk indicators.
A globally-prestigious university engaged me to investigate whistle-blower reports that policies and procedures hadn't been followed. The results showed that donations from high-profile philanthropists had been diverted away from the university into a charity controlled by staff and then used inappropriately.
I also conducted an investigation on behalf of an insurance broker's majority shareholder who had concerns regarding the integrity of her CEO. The results validated her concerns and led to them leaving the business.
Examples of non-financial investigations have included allegations of bullying and harassment by senior staff, and assessments of third-party investigations into complaints of bias and other forms of inappropriate behaviour.
Outside of work, I've been a season-ticket holder at Leicester City for many years, supporting the club home and away, and have a particular love of organising self-drive adventures in Southern and Eastern Africa.
