Forensic tools & techniques
The instruments of a modern investigation. We pair the right tool to the question — from full-population data testing to statistical fraud detection.
What we use, and why it matters
Forensic work is only as credible as its method. These are representative tools and techniques applied across engagements.
IDEA / ACL Analytics
Industry-standard CAAT platforms for interrogating entire datasets — Benford’s Law tests, duplicate detection, gap analysis and trend isolation across millions of records.
Tableau / Power BI
Turning transaction data into visual patterns — spotting clusters, outliers and timelines that reveal how a fraud was structured and when it began.
Microsoft Excel (Advanced)
Pivot analysis, statistical sampling and reconciliation — still the forensic workhorse for focused transaction testing and schedule reconstruction.
Benford’s Law Analysis
A mathematical test of naturally-occurring numbers. Deviations in the leading-digit distribution can flag fabricated or manipulated figures for closer review.
Relativity / eDiscovery
Structured review of large volumes of emails and documents to locate communications and records relevant to an investigation.
Bank Statement Analysers
Automated parsing and reconciliation of statements across accounts to reconstruct the flow of funds and surface unexplained movements.
Why we test 100%, not a sample
Traditional audit tests a sample of transactions. Fraud, by design, hides in the exceptions a sample is most likely to miss. Computer-assisted audit techniques let us test the entire population — every transaction, every account, every period — so anomalies surface mathematically rather than by chance.
Completeness
No transaction is excluded from testing.
Repeatability
Tests are documented and can be re-run and verified.
Defensibility
Findings rest on the full data, not a judgement sample.