Reading financial statements
Corruption investigations are often financial crime scenes. Investigators or recruited external experts (often forensic accountants) will need to understand banking, procurement procedures, contracts and company accounts to be able to track and trace the movement of funds, as well as to understand how and where that money may be moved and used, including through financial instruments, investments, businesses and trading entities where proceeds can be laundered. One particular technique is the ability to ‘read’ a potential suspect in financial terms, through income/expenditure analysis of documentation related to banking, credit cards, assets, property and more. Similar competences will be necessary in relation to foreign jurisdictions and overseas banks. One additional benefit of such competencies is the calculation of value of proceeds in terms of asset tracing, restraint and possible confiscation.
