Job Memo

Forensic Investigations Associate at KPMG

When you hear forensic investigations, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Most people tend to think of the television show CSI, the FBI, or some sort of super-secret agent. Well, I am here to tell you that being a Forensic Investigations Associate isn’t quite like that. In fact, it involves you sitting in a cubicle processing and analyzing data.

Forensic investigations lies under risk consulting which helps organizations transform risk and compliance efforts into a competitive advantage. Applying a risk lens to corporate strategy improves an organization’s risk intelligence and decision making. The process between KPMG and their client is as follows:

1.      A Client approaches KPMG with suspicion of fraudulent activities occurring within their company.

2.      KPMG collects their client’s data and analyzes the data to find out who is involved, when the fraudulent activities began, and what the results of the fraudulent activity are.

3.      The results are then displayed in graphical format and presented in a report which is then given to the client.

My experience is limited to this past summer but I am looking forward to continuing my career in forensic investigations. I will first take you through my experience as an intern and then describe the expectations and responsibilities of a full time associate.

Summer Internship

My internship started with a national intern training hosted by KPMG in Orlando, Florida. With over 1400 interns from all over the country attending, the training taught us the importance of knowing ourselves and our own character and just meeting new people and creating new relationships. I also learned about risk consulting and ways how to identify risks and control them. Throughout the week, I explored the night life of Orlando during my free time. Overall, the training provided a valuable experience not only in meeting new people but taught fundamental skills relevant to forensic investigations.

As an intern, the tasks assigned to me were extremely limited in scope due to the lack of training and sensitivity of client information. Due to the restrictions, my experience consisted of mostly data entry. However, on certain engagements, I listened to communication between the lead partner and the client. This provided me with an overall idea of the engagement at hand even though I performed only data entry. Over the course of seven weeks, I performed a variety of tasks:

·         Entered and analyzed 500+ reports to detect fraudulent activities for clientele

·         Organized 7600+ invoices for easier accessibility and in preparation for evidence handling

·         Proposed diagrams and graphs to display data for client deliverable

·         Participated in numerous volunteering events in the Los Angeles community

For example, one engagement I worked on involved a whistleblower who informed our clients that there have been employees participating in fraudulent survey results. In order to figure out who was involved and when it started, our client sent us their daily drilling records for us to analyze. I then transcribed their handwritten records into Excel for easier accessibility and from there passed it onto the associate and manager. I also created a visual for our client to show them which employee was involved with which drilling record. The client expressed how pleased they were with our work and praised KPMG for completing yet another job.

Full Time Forensic Investigations Associate

During my internship, I had the opportunity to talk to associates, senior associates, managers, directors, and even partners to gain their perspective on the industry, company, and what I should expect as an incoming forensic investigation associate. Across the board, everyone encouraged me to refine my Excel skills, learn the fundamentals of SQL, and be able to produce aesthetic PowerPoints. In addition, I learned the responsibilities of a forensic investigations associate:

·         Conduct and coordinate large-scale, multi-jurisdictional investigations

·         Summarize, analyze, and prepare analysis reports and findings in a clear, logical, and concise manner

·         Interact with and interview clients and other external sources in order to obtain relevant information and documents, and supervise a professional team with backgrounds ranging from accounting to law enforcement

·         Evaluate internal control structures and data to help identify weaknesses and associated risks and make recommendations on how to mitigate those risks and evaluate the general risk faced by the client in a particular industry

For example, my senior associate “buddy” exchanged numerous emails with the client and created and presented graphs based on the data that I had inputted. This gave a clear and concise picture to the client what we had discovered and what precautions they should take going forward.

As an intern, I was not able to participate in any of these responsibilities but I am looking forward to contribute more as a full-time associate. Moreover, KPMG allows incoming associates to participate in their 50-50 program in which I will be rotating between forensic investigations and audit services every six months. This allows me to gain exposure to both practices as well as fulfill the required hours to pass my attest CPA exam.

The countless opportunities at KPMG allow for me to grow professionally and mentally while the culture and environment in the office allows for endless opportunities and friendships.

Readability Statistics

Passive Sentences 3%

Flesch Reading Ease 41.1

Flesch Kindcaid Grade Level 12.6