Securities and Finance

Accounting Disclosure Litigation

NERA's accounting experts combine a unique blend of skills and industry experience to address financial disclosures, auditing and control, and tax compliance issues related to:

• Criminal and civil allegations of securities fraud
• Accounting fraud and professional negligence
• Complex commercial disputes
• Post-acquisition disputes
• Allegations of misrepresentations in financial disclosures
• Notional valuations for reporting purposes

Our experts offer highly specialized knowledge and investigative skills, combining statistical and econometric expertise with an in-depth understanding of the nature of, and possible flaws in, the underlying financial data.

The synergies between our accounting expertise and our securities litigation, financial investigation, and business and securities valuation practices allows us to provide clients with integrated, robust analyses. We are frequently asked to provide consulting and expert testimony.

Our team includes former partners of major accounting firms and leading academics in the areas of financial accounting and reporting, cost accounting, forensic accounting, derivatives, risk management, tax matters, and accounting rule-making.

Many of NERA's economists are also Certified Public Accountants, with training and experience in analyzing financial statements and financial data prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and other accounting standards, including International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Our experts are uniquely positioned to evaluate the economic substance behind reported financial results and are familiar with the complex systems for organizing voluminous transactions data that underlie the reported numbers.

NERA has applied this specialized knowledge in numerous engagements involving accounting issues, including:

• the value of securities tied to subprime lending, including reserves for losses on the balance sheet of the originator;
• allegations of accounting fraud in securities class actions; and
• the economics of mutual funds, and data in cases of alleged mutual fund fraud.

In bankruptcy matters, our accounting experience is often combined with our experts' specialized knowledge of business and securities valuation, intellectual property, financial investigation, securities litigation, and commercial litigation.