External Audit Defense Services
Private Equity Funds Team Lead – Timothy E. Allen | Former Special Agent (U.S. Secret Service & DOJ-OIG)
For private equity (PE) firms, external audits are independent investigations into a corporation’s finances. The audits examine compliance with specific rules and regulations on financials. The audits are done by external auditors to ensure they result in an independent and unbiased audit report.
If external audits detect fraud, noncompliance, among other irregularities or wrongdoing, a PE firm can face negative consequences such as hefty fines, lawsuits, reputation damage, among other issues. When this happens, PE firms need expert help to navigate such problems.
Corporate Investigation Consulting helps both PE firms to navigate external audit issues. We can question external audit processes, challenge evidence collection, defend PE firms in legal matters, investigate regulator processes, and much more!
Our external audit defense services extend to finding the root cause of customer complaints and inquiries that can trigger an external audit. We investigate competitors and other third parties to assess the legitimacy of audit processes.
Our External Audit Defense at a Glance
Corporate Investigation Consulting will:
- Respond to an external audit notice on behalf of clients
- Defend clients on all external audit hearing with auditors
- Work with external audit representatives to ensure they audit in accordance with respective guidelines.
- Help clients resolve all external audit issues from penalties to legal processes
Put our highly experienced team on your side
Roger Bach
Former Special Agent (OIG)
Timothy E. Allen
Former Senior Special Agent U.S. Secret Service
Chris J. Quick
Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)
Maura Kelley
Former Special Agent (FBI)
Ray Yuen
Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)
Michael S. Koslow
Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)
Marquis D. Pickett
Special Agent U.S. Secret Service (ret.)
Who does Corporate Investigation Consulting Work With?
Public Corporations
PE firms whose shares are publicly traded in the stock market or over-the-counter are considered public, making them subject to the Securities regulations such as Securities Act -1933 and SEA (Securities Exchange Act – 1934). Public corporations must follow legal obligations such as preparing external audits annually and submitting audit results to the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission). Public corporations also need to meet other related requirements, such as preparing a report on a corporation’s internal controls and ensuring auditors validate such a report.
Corporate Investigation Consulting can help public corporations abide by all external audit requirements nationwide and beyond. Our service ensures a Private Equity Firm’s management complies with external audit requirements seamlessly. We can also offer external audit defense services if a corporation does not meet SEC requirements on audits, among other regulatory guidelines.
Private Equity Firms and Private Corporations
While public corporations are not legally obligated to do external audits, it is important to do so. Voluntary external audits can ensure external audits from regulators do not uncover costly issues like noncompliance with stringent rules. Voluntary audits are also part of good industry practice. Some lenders may also demand external audits before they release funding. External audits are also part of doing business such as, when PE firms are bidding for contracts or presenting proposals.
We assist PE firms with conducting voluntary external audits. We can also find and solve external audit problems before regulators find them. Private corporations that are subjected to external audits due to whistleblowers, customer complaints, etc., can count on our external audit defense services.
Nonprofit Corporations
Nonprofit corporations are legal entities that exist for other purposes besides making profits for shareholders. Nonprofits may be subjected to different laws depending on the jurisdiction. While the IRS does not require nonprofit corporations to get audits, state and federal agencies can require audits depending on a nonprofit’s spending, size, source of funding, etc.
We can help nonprofits meet external audit requirements in the examination of financial statements and offer external audit defense services in case of issues such as noncompliance with certain standards i.e., federal grants management, among other rules applicable to nonprofits that solicit public funds.
Other Types of Corporations
Corporate Investigation Consulting can assist other types of PE firms doing business nationwide and beyond.
All PE firms, regardless of size or regulations, should do external audits to boost credibility. External audits do not only have financial incentives. Annual external adults are important for corporate responsibility. Call Corporate Investigation Consulting at 866-352-9324 for nationwide external audit services.
Our Role
We assist in external audit matters in many ways. Here is what it’s like working with Corporate Investigation Consulting
Representing a Corporation’s Interests
Our external audit defense services are aimed at protecting PE firms. External audits from auditors, among other enforcement agencies, investigate financials. Our work is to go ahead of regulators, among other entities, and fix any external audit issues. We can assess for validity, and other factors ensuring a PE firm’s management receives accurate information on the external audit position.
Since management and the board can question external audit results from regulators, we can defend such instances in many ways, including questioning such results and methods used to arrive at such results.
Boost Accountability
Our external audits have improved how PE firm’s policies and measures surrounding financials and other issues serve the main goal. Besides offering external audit defenses, we also make recommendations for the good of a PE firm. We can identify malpractices done by in-house staff such as inflating figures and recommend solutions to such problems such as layoffs, demotions, and other disciplinary actions.
Risk Mitigation
Our services can be proactive. While we come in mostly when there are external audit issues, we can offer our services to boost corporate governance. Our periodic risk assessments assess risk and measures in place to prevent such risks. We can assess risks such as corruption, fraud and noncompliance in PE firms and risk tolerance with the sole purpose of mitigating a PE firm against such risks.
Crisis Management
Our audit defense services are about managing crises related to external audits. Audit investigations can halt operations in PE firms. They can also plunge PE firms into legal battles costing millions of dollars. Other unfavorable consequences include hefty fines.
Our external audit experts can assist with such a crisis. We have helped many PE firms nationwide deal with the consequences of negative external audit results. Our help extends to representing the PE firm and its officials from media and law enforcement actions.
We can also assist in establishing strong regulatory relationships and cooperation between other agencies involved in audits. Regulators do not have problems with PE firms with transparent operations and those eager to comply with regulations.
Get a free-confidential external audit defense consultation now. Reach out online or give us a call at 866-352-9324.