David Anderson is principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation, forensic accounting and marital dissolution services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.
Family arguments over such minor issues as toys, chores, or family rules are quite common among siblings, cousins, and other relations.
However, these youngsters often grow up and get engaged in more meaningful, and significant, disagreements over trusts, estates, and other inheritance issues.
This is where the services of a forensic accountant can come into play.
“Unfortunately, there rarely is a family member who can step in as the ultimate arbiter to settle the conflict,” said David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm. “Instead, the unhappy beneficiaries often turn to the courts to resolve the dispute, ending up in litigation that can be very contentious and very expensive.”
Anderson said, in many cases such as these, families turn to a forensic accounting expert to analyze the management and administration of the trust or estate and to account for the assets and transactions.
“Perhaps one or more beneficiaries, who often are siblings or other relatives, believe the fiduciary (trustee or executor) is mishandling the trust or estate’s finances, is improperly taking funds from the trust or estate, or has improperly or unevenly distributed assets or income of the trust or estate.
“A forensic accounting expert has no stake in the matter and is not a family member. He or she is concerned only with the facts of the matter at hand,” said Anderson, who provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. “As a result, both the beneficiaries and the fiduciary can be confident that the forensic accountant’s report will be independent, fair and unbiased. Engaging a forensic accounting expert to settle the conflict is less contentious and less expensive.”
Anderson said a forensic accountant’s report typically identifies the specific documents that govern the administration of the trust or estate and cites specific passages from those documents regarding management of assets, distribution of funds, payment of fees to and expenses of the fiduciary, and related matters. The report identifies the period examined, provides a schedule of assets of the trust or estate at both the beginning and end of the period, and lays out (in either detail or summary form) the transactions of the trust or estate.
Anderson, a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, said the report outlines the forensic accountant’s findings regarding the fiduciary’s management of the trust or estate relative to the trust documents, and whether any transactions conflict with the governing documents. The forensic accountant will review the report with the beneficiaries and the fiduciary and answer any questions regarding the findings.
While the cost of engaging a forensic accounting expert to analyze the handling of a trust or estate is usually significantly less than the cost of actual or threatened litigation, it is the lessening or neutralizing of the emotional aspects of the dispute that can be even more appealing to families.
“A forensic accountant’s involvement reduces the contentiousness,” Anderson said. “Family members tend to acknowledge that the dispute is in the hands of a professional whose independent analysis will bring peace of mind to everyone involved. The forensic accountant is, in effect, the ultimate arbitrator we grew up with. It’s the next best thing to Mom and Dad.”
Anderson recommends that beneficiaries and fiduciaries engage the services of a forensic accounting expert at the first sign of a dispute — before the matter escalates and family relationships are destroyed.
“Don’t let suspicions of mismanagement fester until things have gotten so bad that there is no hope of repairing the relationship,” said Anderson, whose company offers a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. “Family is important. Bring in a third party as soon as a conflict arises.”
If you require a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at david@davidandersonassociates.com.
About David Anderson & Associates
David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services. Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia with more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Certified Valuation Analyst.
