Forensic Services Practice

CRA’s forensic accounting and investigation experts provide independent technical accounting and forensic expertise in complex litigation, internal investigations, valuation, FCPA, business intelligence and white collar defense matters. Our team works closely with boards of directors, audit committees, external regulators, management, legal counsel, and other parties to investigate a broad range of allegations including accounting and financial reporting investigations, employee misconduct, fraud, and non-compliance. We also provide technical and forensic accounting expertise in commercial litigation disputes, post-acquisition disputes, and white collar defense. When insurance claims arise resulting from cyber related disruptions, our forensic accounting team provides insurance claim consulting, forensic accounting, and economic services to insurers and insureds to quantify business interruption losses, as well as other losses associated with the disruption.

What do we look for in candidates?

Full-time and Interns – we seek Bachelor candidates who are majoring in Accounting or Finance or those obtaining their Master of Accounting degree. Familiarity with accounting principles, corporate governance and/or regulatory environments is highly beneficial. CPA eligibility and fluency in Excel is preferred. For intern positions, we seek rising juniors with a similar profile.

Role of junior staff and interns

Our staff will perform financial and investigative analyses based on client specific needs. Junior staff and interns may be asked to assist in creating analyses used to:

• Perform accounting and financial reporting (GAAP) investigations
• Perform forensic accounting and financial analysis on business and financial records
• Review and trace financial transactions
• Perform and assist with financial restatement process
• Perform post-acquisition dispute analysis
• Calculate business interruption losses for cyber insurance claims
• Investigate allegations of employee misconduct
• Investigate allegations of fraud or embezzlement
• Assist in white collar criminal defense

Analyses are often used to support an expert report. Our staff may also search databases for relevant documents supporting transaction information and other analyses. Team members perform quality control work on client engagements, reviewing reports and ensuring figures in supporting schedules are accurate.

CRA’s Forensic Services Cybersecurity solution can be divided broadly into three segments: Incident Response (IR), Digital Forensic Investigations, and Strategic Cyber Security Investigations. Our cyber response team is highly experienced in responding to advanced persistence threats, data extortion, business email compromise, ransomware, insider threats, and more. In digital forensics investigations, our team will recover and investigate material found in digital devices in the context of cybercrime. The strategic cyber team collaborates with organizations to comprehensively assess and improve their cybersecurity posture and defenses. Our clients include attorneys, insurance carriers, manufacturing companies, and healthcare, government and educational institutions, amongst others.

What do we look for in candidates?

Full Time and Interns – We seek Bachelor’s or Master’s candidates who are concentrating in computer science and/or cybersecurity. Applicants with an interest or past work experience in computer incident response, cybersecurity, and/or digital forensics are preferred. Experience in different computer languages (i.e. Python, C++, Java, Encase, etc.) and/or relevant certifications (SANS GIAC, CISSP, Certified Ethical Hacker, etc) is highly beneficial. For intern positions, we seek rising juniors with a similar profile.

Role of junior staff and interns

Our staff execute security and privacy investigations for CRA clients, in preparation of, and in response to, data security matters. Our project teams provide forensic expertise on behalf of counsel and clients in support of data security incidents (i.e. data breaches or fraud). Junior staff and interns identify, research, and organize information to assess the appropriateness and sufficiency of available data to facilitate effective data access and analysis. Our team members may also assist in conducting cyber maturity / gap assessments and transformation aligned to industry frameworks (NIST, ISO27001, CIS), tactical attack simulations (pentesting, red teaming), vulnerability management, IT security hygiene assessments and threat hunting. Staff may work in different programming and model building software including: Python, SQL, C# and others.