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We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide you with this valuable information via our monthly e-newsletter and our unparalleled forensic accounting and fraud investigative services.
The goal of this e-newsletter is to provide you critical, inside information that will help you "follow the money" in business disputes, divorce cases, fraud cases, estate matters, corporate embezzlement and to prevail when defending an IRS criminal case. We will do this by sharing the knowledge we have from our 25+ years of experience as an IRS Special Agent and 16 years as a private investigator / forensic accountant.
We take special care to ensure the information we provide you in "The Beacon" is the latest and most current information available.
In this edition, we talk about the importance of filing timely with the IRS.
We want to write about topics that will assist you in prevailing with fraud, divorce, estate and probate, and IRS criminal cases. Please e-mail us your topics of interest to
Thebeacon@sageinvestigations.com
We encourage you to share our e-newsletter with others in your sphere of influence.
Sincerely,
Edmond J. Martin
Principal, Chief Investigator
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Texas Certified Investigator (TCI)
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Important Considerations When Hiring a Forensic Accountant
 Forensic accounting combines accounting and investigative skills, knowledge, education, experience, and training which is perfect for firms offering litigation support and investigative accounting. This expertise is obtained by individuals with specialized training, including trained criminal investigators retired from the Internal Revenue Service. These folks were forensic accountants before the term was even formed.
Most of them are accountants trained in investigative techniques and interviewing. Some are Certified Public Accountants while others are Certified Fraud Examiners. They gain experience through investigations, interviews, gathering evidence, communicating through reports and preparing exhibits of evidence, and presenting the case in a court proceeding with an Assistant US Attorney. They are trained in the law and are comparable to paralegals.
Forensic accountants outside the government are hired to assist individuals and attorneys for individuals or companies that need a situation investigated. It may be an investigation to compute a loss resulting when an absentee partner realizes that the operating partner has stolen from the company. This can be direct theft or theft by personal expenditures paid by credit card and recorded as fraudulent business expenditures. This can be very damaging to the business, the business relationship, and the secondary effect brought on by the Internal Revenue Service. The only good thing for an owner is that IRS audits of business are not really prominent at this time. If a partner, shareholder or operations manager is stealing from your company, it is in danger of going out of business.
The first thought that comes to most business owners is to contact the police department or the FBI. Most police departments will take the complaint and may pass it on to a detective. However, police departments in most cities are ill-equipped to bring justice to the thief. The reason for the lack for follow through by the police is because financial investigations are very time consuming and cost money. The FBI will take the information but because they have one or two white-collar investigators, it takes a while for the agent to make contact with the owner.
The mission of the FBI has changed since 911 to anti-terrorism and counter-intelligence. In addition, the monetary threshold set by the US Attorney's office is very high. The US Secret Service or the IRS Criminal Division may accept a complaint on a matter. However,
it really is up to the business owner to protect himself. Every business should implement strong internal controls and policies and procedures along with strong oversight.
Here's an example:
It is easy for a business manager in a restaurant to steal cash from the till. This is especially true if the manager is closing for the night and the owner is not present. Remember the statement of Ronald Reagan about the Russians, "trust but verify." The restaurant owner should make unexpected visits and check the cash drawer.
So, here's my advice to you. Do not be...
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About Us
Serving your needs is our priority.
At Sage Investigations we are dedicated to serving our clients nationally, to help them navigate the difficulties of dealing with fraud, divorce, estate and probate, the IRS Criminal Investigation, and other complex (forensic) financial fraud investigations. By narrowing our focus to our primary strength of following the money, we steer our knowledge, efforts, and experience to financial issues. We help our clients propel their cases forward by assisting in the review, acquisition, and organization of financial records, evaluating the elements of their cases, and helping create winning strategies. Through the use of our proprietary advanced financial investigative technology we trace and analyze complex financial data quickly, easily and efficiently, saving our client's time and money.
Sage handles all cases with altruism, professionalism, honesty, integrity, passion and respect. When you hire Sage, you hire a team of professionals with skill and knowledge that helps you have more effective solutions. We are innovative with our DIO cutting edge technology, and perform every investigation in an orderly and organized manner to develop a clear investigative roadmap and deliver a quality work product. The compass that guides us is strong leadership and accountability.
Learn more
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Contact Us
P.O. Box 160161
Austin, TX 78716
Phone: 512-659-3179
Fax: 512-328-6878
Texas License #A10803
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© 2019 Sage Investigations. All rights reserved.
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