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Forensic audit and investigations in Ghana

When the numbers stop making sense.

Where fraud, misappropriation or a serious control failure is suspected. Evidence gathered and documented to a standard that holds up in a disciplinary process, an insurance claim or in court, and scoped so the investigation does not tip off the people it concerns.

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A forensic engagement asks a narrower and harder question than an audit. Not whether the financial statements are materially correct, but what happened, who did it, how much is involved, and can it be proved.

The first conversation matters

Call before you do anything else, including confronting anybody. The most common way an investigation fails is that somebody senior asks a direct question early, the subject is alerted, and the evidence disappears over a weekend. Scope, sequencing and discretion are decided before any fieldwork begins.

What we can and cannot promise

We can tell you what the records show, quantify it, and document it to a standard that survives challenge. We cannot promise that every suspicion will be substantiated, and we will tell you plainly when the evidence does not support what you believe happened. An investigation that confirms nothing occurred is a legitimate and useful outcome.

Where the evidence usually is

Rarely in one place. Bank records, supplier master data, approval trails, email, payroll, stock movements and the gaps between systems that nobody reconciles. In our experience the pattern is more often procurement and supplier manipulation than cash theft, because it is harder to see and larger in value.

Preserve firstBefore you act, secure the records: restrict system access changes, preserve email and backups, and do not allow anybody to tidy files. Evidence that is altered after suspicion arises is difficult to rely on later, even where the alteration was innocent.

Discretion

Scoped so the investigation does not alert its subjects

3 to 8 weeks

Typical duration, depending on scope and records

Partner-led

Judgement work, not delegated

Scope

What a forensic engagement covers

Every engagement is scoped to the specific allegation, because a broad investigation costs more and proves less.

Scoping and preservation

Agreeing what is alleged, what would prove or disprove it, and securing the records before anything else. This step is where most investigations are won or lost.

Evidence gathering and analysis

Transaction analysis, supplier and payroll master data review, approval trail reconstruction, and interviews conducted in a defensible sequence.

Quantification

Establishing the amount involved, on a basis that can be explained to an insurer, a disciplinary panel or a court, with the assumptions stated.

Reporting and support

A findings report written for the audience that will use it, and continued support through disciplinary proceedings, an insurance claim or litigation.

Process

How an investigation runs

Sequence matters more here than in any other engagement we undertake.

Who should knowUsually fewer people than you think. We will advise on who needs to be informed and when, including whether the finance function itself can be relied on during the work.

Confidential first conversation

No charge, and no record created that could prejudice the matter. What is suspected, what prompted it, and who currently knows.

Same day where possible

Preservation and scoping

Securing records and agreeing exactly what the engagement will and will not examine.

Days 1 to 3

Analysis

Transaction and data work, conducted without alerting subjects where that is the agreed approach.

Two to five weeks

Interviews

Where appropriate, and in a sequence designed so that earlier interviews do not compromise later ones.

As the evidence allows

Report and next steps

Findings, quantification and evidence file, with a working session on what you do next.

On completion

Engagement

Fees, timing and who does the work

Fee basis

Fixed fee by phaseScoping quoted first. The investigation itself quoted once the scope is known, so you are not committing to an open-ended engagement.

Who does the work

A partner throughoutThis is judgement work with legal consequences. It is not delegated.

Discretion

AbsoluteNothing is discussed outside the agreed circle, including internally.

Indicative only. Every fee is quoted in the proposal, before any work starts, and held unless the scope changes.

Questions

Questions when something has gone wrong

We suspect fraud. What should we do first?

Call us before confronting anybody or changing anything. Preserve records, restrict system access changes, and keep the circle small. The most common way an investigation fails is that the subject is alerted early and evidence disappears.

Will you find out who did it?

Sometimes definitively, sometimes only far enough to support a disciplinary process. What we can always do is establish what the records show and quantify it. We will not overstate what the evidence proves.

Can the report be used in court?

It is prepared to that standard. Evidence is documented, assumptions are stated, and the methodology is set out so it can be challenged. Whether proceedings follow is your decision and your lawyer's.

Can our auditor investigate us?

Where we are your statutory auditor there may be independence and self-review considerations, and it depends on what is alleged and where. We assess this before accepting and will tell you plainly if another firm should do it.

How much will it cost?

The scoping phase is quoted first and is a fixed fee. The investigation is quoted once we know what we are examining. We do not run open-ended hourly engagements on forensic work, because the incentive is wrong.

Read before you brief us

ServiceInternal audit, which finds most of this earlier ServiceInternal control and process review ServiceStatutory audit

Next step

Call before you do anything else.

The first conversation is confidential, carries no charge, and will tell you whether you have a problem worth investigating and how to protect the evidence in the meantime.

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Contact

+233 53 362 2433 info@elixiraudits.com

1 Alex Nkrumah Street, Airport West, Accra

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