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Workshops for Lawyers

KPMG Forensic has developed a portfolio of workshops and seminars designed to enhance the understanding that exists between lawyers and forensic accountants.

By sharing knowledge through seminars and workshops, lawyers and forensic accountants can work together more effectively to help improve the overall service to their clients.

Many of our seminars offer opportunities for active participation, through discussion of scenarios and case studies drawn from our experience. The seminars also offer the opportunity to exchange opinions and debate subjects of common interest with fellow professionals.

The length and scope of the seminars can be tailored to your individual firm’s or department’s needs. They range from a 30 minute briefing on asset tracing to a full day’s workshop giving solicitors the opportunity to polish their cross examination skills, with some of our senior forensic accountants acting as expert witnesses.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of the seminars, please get in touch with your usual KPMG Forensic contact or please e-mail us.

Please note: KPMG in the UK is a Law Society accredited Continuous Professional Development (CPD) provider and that delegates at KPMG Forensic seminars will qualify for CPD points.

Expert Witness
The role of the expert witness
Objective:
To provide an insight into the role of the accounting expert witness.

• A brief history of the evolving role of the expert witness and a description of key milestone cases.
• Practical tips for the preparation and giving of expert evidence, with reference to both written reports and cross-examination techniques at trial.

Target audience: Litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 60 minutes

Quantum disputes and the role of the forensic accountant
Objective:
To provide an insight into the issues that confront forensic accountants when quantifying loss of profits.

• A discussion of the principles underlying the quantification of loss of profits in commercial disputes. 
• An exploration of the role of the forensic accountant in quantum disputes with reference to examples of cases that KPMG Forensic has worked upon.

Target audience: Litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 60-90 minutes

Transaction disputes
Objective:
To share our knowledge of completion accounts and other transaction-related disputes.

• A discussion of issues in the wording of the sale and purchase agreement that can lead to transaction-related disputes.
• A case study based on real-life examples of disputed completion accounts and earn-out items.
• Consideration of the content and scope of financial warranties and the use of independent experts to resolve both completion accounts and financial warranty disputes.

Target audience: Corporate lawyers, litigation lawyers and dispute resolution lawyers
Time (approx): 90-120 minutes

Valuations – a practical seminar
Objective:
To highlight some of the issues involved in share and business valuations.

• An introduction to the complexities of share and business valuations and the role of the expert witness in business valuation cases.
• An interactive discussion in syndicate groups of a case study considering the process of and issues involved in valuing a business.

Target audience: Corporate lawyers, litigation lawyers and family lawyers
Time (approx): 60 minutes

Advocacy: Cross-examination of expert witnesses
Objective:
To develop the cross-examination skills of solicitor advocates through the use of scenario based role plays.

• An opportunity to gain practical experience of cross-examination in a realistic setting. Using a case study, participants engage in one-to-one role plays, with the solicitor advocates cross-examining the forensic accountant in their role as an expert witness.
• The role play exercises will be punctuated by a series of short lectures from the point of view of both the expert witness and the advocate, combined with feedback on the role plays.

Target audience: Solicitor advocates
Time (approx): One day

Damages claims in International Arbitration
Objective:
To provide an insight into how to calculate damages in International Arbitration claims and how to communicate this effective and persuasively to a Tribunal.

• A discussion of the basic methods of quantifying damages including an overview of key issues raised by Arbitral Tribunals in relation to such calculations.
• Insight into how to present complex damages claims to a Tribunal based on a number of real-life case examples.

Target audience: Arbitration and litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 60 minutes

Matrimonial valuations
Objective:
To provide an overview of business valuations and interpreting financial information in the context of divorce proceedings.

• Tips on how to interpret accounts and obtain advantageous information for matrimonial purposes.
• An introduction to the complexities of business and share valuations in the context of divorce proceedings.
• A participative case study working through a business valuation for a matrimonial example.

Target audience: Family lawyers
Time (approx): 90 minutes

The use of economic evidence in quantum disputes
Objective:
To show the relevance of economics to loss of profits disputes

• An overview of how an economic forecasting framework can be used to estimate the counterfactual for profits
• A discussion of how economic arguments based on cost of capital theory can influence the choice of discount rate
• Insight into how economic theories of exchange rate determination can be relevant to quantum arguments in international disputes.

Target audience: Litigation lawyers and corporate lawyers
Time (approx): 60 minutes

Competition Services
The role of the Trustee in merger cases
Objective:
To discuss the practical aspects of dealing with EC Trustee appointments.

• A discussion of the types of practical issues that can arise for the Trustee and the merger parties and possible strategies to help solve those issues, with reference to a wide range of cases in which KPMG has been involved.

Target audience: Competition lawyers
Time: 60 minutes

The role of the forensic accountant in competition investigations
Objective:
To discuss the role of the forensic accountant in competition investigations.

• An exploration of how forensic accountants and the use of Forensic Technology can assist in competition investigations, working alongside competition lawyers and economists to help improve the client’s chances of a fair outcome to the investigation.

Target audience: Competition lawyers
Time (approx): 60 minutes

Calculating damages as a result of a cartel
Objective:
To provide an insight into how to calculate damages arising from a cartel.

• Based on real-life CAT and High Court examples.
• Presents the perspectives of accountants and economists on the issues.
• Considers the "passing-on defence" from an economic perspective, including examples of where analogous situations have already been considered by the UK Courts.

Target audience: Competition and litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 60 minutes

Fraud and Compliance
Black hole investigations
Objective:
To explain how accounting ‘black holes’ can arise and give examples of past investigations.

• An exploration of the phenomenon of the accounting black hole and how black holes can arise, with reference to two short case studies based on cases in which KPMG has been involved.
• A discussion of the points to consider when investigating black holes at corporate clients, how accountants and lawyers can work together and how to quantify loss.

Target audience: Corporate lawyers and litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 30 minutes

Asset tracing: an accountant’s perspective
Objective:
To provide an overview of the current techniques for cash and asset tracing in pursuit of recovery actions.

• An introduction to the asset tracing techniques KPMG Forensic pioneered in the Grupo Torras vs Al Sabah case.
• A description of how these techniques have developed and assisted in recent cases, including examples from Russia, Eastern Europe and the UK.

Target audience: Litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 30 minutes

Accounting in the context of fraud and asset tracing
Objective:
To provide an overview of the accounting issues relevant to fraud investigations and asset tracing.

• Tips on how to read between the lines when studying a set of published accounts in order to discern signs of financial difficulty or abuses by management or staff.
• An overview of how the UK accounting profession is regulated and the ways in which the profession has attempted to tackle key accounting problems.
• An exploration of how accounting issues can be used in the context of asset tracing and other litigation with reference to issues such as security for costs, raids and asset tracing rules.

Target audience: Litigation lawyers
Time (approx) 60 minutes

Financial crime, anti-money laundering (AML) and the regulatory investigation
Objective:
To highlight some of the issues involved in financial crime regulation.

• An overview of the current financial crime regulatory framework (fraud, AML and market abuse) and the challenge faced by financial institutions both with respect to governance and operational controls. This refers to case studies from KPMG’s work with regulated firms.

Target audience: Regulatory lawyers
Time (approx): 45-60 minutes

Product recall and quantum
Objective:
To highlight potential areas of contention in quantifying loss for a claim in relation to product recall and how an independent accounting expert can help.

• A delay in capturing appropriate information for claim quantification may result in contentious issues, which in turn may cause delays in claims settlement and/or result in litigation. The appointment of an independent accounting expert, by either the insured or insurer, in the early stages of a product recall claim can help to manage these issues by ensuring that appropriate recall costs are captured in a timely and accurate manner. Elements of a product recall claim where contentious issues relating to quantum of loss may arise will also be discussed.

Target audience: Insurance and litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 45-60 minutes

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Forensic Technology
Forensic technology
Objective:
Introduction to Forensic Technology.

• An overview of the procedures, policies and solutions that KPMG Forensic’s technology team uses to deliver its services, including a discussion of digital evidence recovery, data driven intelligence, cyber forensics and discovery management.

Target audience: All lawyers
Time (approx): 45 minutes

Electronic disclosure
Objective:
To illustrate the ways in which KPMG’s Forensic Technology team can assist in Electronic Disclosure exercises.

• A discussion, using a case study, of the challenges posed by the different types, and increasing amount, of digital evidence in commercial disputes and financial investigations.
• An overview of the methods KPMG Forensic adopts in dealing with personal computers, back-up tapes and e-mail servers, the amalgamation of electronic and hardcopy evidence and its delivery to investigation and litigation teams around the world.

Target audience: All, particularly litigation lawyers
Time (approx): 45 minutes

Forensic technology and investigations
Objective:
To provide guidance on the application of Forensic Technology tools and techniques when undertaking investigations

• A discussion, using a case study, of the ways in which structured and unstructured information may be analysed for the purposes of conducting an investigation.
• Illustrate the ways in which evidence gathered from a wide variety of sources, both internal (e-mail and accounting data) and external (Internet and publicly available databases), may be used to piece together events, transactions and relationships underlying potentially fraudulent or otherwise improper behaviour.

Target audience: All lawyers
Time (approx): 45 minutes

Accounting
Accounting and auditing (basic)
Objective:
To provide a basic introduction to accounting and auditing.

• An overview of basic accounting concepts such as double entry bookkeeping and historical cost accounting.
• Introduction to a set of financial statements.
• Explanation of the roles of balance sheet and profit and loss account, importance of accounting periods, accounting standards and accounting policies.
• Introduction to the role of an auditor. Type and form of audit reports.

Target audience: All lawyers
Time (approx): 45 minutes

Accounting (interim)
Objective:
To explore more advanced issues in accounting.

• A discussion of consolidation and group financial statements.
• Introduction to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Analysis of financial statements and indicators of a company in distress.

Target audience: All lawyers
Time (approx): 45 minutes

 

 

For more information and examples of our work please contact:
Nick Andrews , Partner	tel: 020 7311 3848