Accuracy

Consulting firm Accuracy regularly partners with GIR 100 law firms on investigations and has recently bolstered its offering by adding a team of forensic accountants to its Dubai office. 

The firm

Accuracy was founded by former partners at defunct US consultancy firm Arthur Andersen in Paris in 2004 as a financial advisory service. Since then, the firm has opened several other offices spanning 13 countries across Europe and Asia.

The firm is notable for its structure. It acts as one worldwide partnership, which it says promotes collaborative investigative solutions It doesn’t provide legal or audit services, meaning it can act as an independent adviser with fewer risks of conflicts, according to the firm.

Accuracy’s founding members include Christophe Schmit, Jean-Baptiste de Courcel and Frédéric Loeper, who are all based in the French capital. Schmit, head of the forensics litigation and arbitration practice, acts for companies across Europe in fraud and foreign bribery investigations and more. Loeper and de Courcel also lead investigations into allegations of corruption, misappropriation and embezzlement. All three also have experience in antitrust cases.

De Courcel specialises in cross-border investigations into corruption, fraud and trade matters such as antitrust, including an investigation into a healthcare company over financial irregularities related to contracts under the Iraq oil for food programme.

Morgan Heavener, also in Paris, brings a wealth of experience from his former life as a lawyer. He was previously of counsel at Paul Hastings in Washington, DC, where he represented numerous companies facing investigations by government agencies, including the US Justice Department, the UK’s SFO and the World Bank.

Accuracy has several professionals with prior government experience in its ranks, including Rae Lawrie and Rick Barker, both of whom are based in Dubai.

Lawrie spent 10 years as a senior financial investigator at the SFO from 1994 to 2004, where he investigated the Bank of Credit and Commerce International affair, which was one of the largest-ever bank fraud cases at the time. Barker meanwhile served in the computer crime squad of the Victoria Police Force in Australia before he entered private practice. At Accuracy, he is responsible for the firm’s forensic technology service and previously led the forensic investigation into a dieselgate-related matter.

Accuracy strengthened its Dubai offering in 2021 by hiring Darren Mullins as a partner in May. He moved over from KPMG and brought with him a team of forensic technology experts including senior advisers Paul Wright and Wendy Robinson. All three have experience at Big Four accountancy firms.

In the UK, Anthony Theau-Laurent is a partner with experience conducting investigations over allegations of fraud, corruption and tax evasion. He has built a reputation as a leading expert witness in thew areas of accounting, corporate finance and valuation. He works alongside Charlene Burridge, who handles investigations into fraud, corruption, transactions and disputes in the firm’s London office. She became a partner at the firm in January, following stints as a director and senior manager. Partner Roula Harfouche left the firm in December.

Accuracy’s office in Milan is home to Giovanni Foti, who has nearly three decades’ worth of experience conducting investigations and helped launch the office in 2009. Also in the office is principal Silvia Baroffio, who focuses on compliance risk management and financial consulting, as well as Laura Gavazzi, who specialises in fraud prevention and investigations. All three are fluent in English.

In Singapore, David Thornes has spearheaded the development of the office since 2016. He has worked on fraud and corruption investigations across Asia, including looking into allegations that a French company committed fraud in Thailand.

In addition to its investigations expertise, Accuracy prides itself on its innovative technology, particularly its e-discovery application, Accuracy Forensic View, which the firm says allows users to quickly view whether individuals within a business have manipulated or deleted electronic data. It is free for enforcement agencies to use.

Recent events

Accuracy handles engagements for multinational companies across the energy, oil and gas, telecoms, and healthcare industries, and more. It frequently partners with GIR 100-ranked law firms. Many of its assignments include cases where multiple government agencies are investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and embezzlement.

Accuracy is currently acting on behalf of a listed French industrial group to investigate alleged bribery in China by recently acquired subsidiaries in Germany and the US. The investigation stemmed from a whistleblower complaint. As part of the investigation, Accuracy mapped out financial flows within the company for the past 18 years.

It’s also assisting a French publicly listed multinational in a money laundering investigation spanning Finland, France, Russia and the UK. Accuracy reviewed swathes of the company’s data and found evidence of suspicious payments from third parties. It is continuing to advise the company on ongoing remedial actions.

Network

Accuracy has offices in 13 countries across three continents. Its partners and employees speak more than 35 languages.

Clients

Accuracy provides services for a large number of notable French companies, including utilities company Veolia, supermarket chain Carrefour, electric equipment supplier Schneider Electric and luxury group Kering.

Track record  

Most of Accuracy’s engagements remain confidential. The firm has experience in supply chain-related fraud, FCPA, tax fraud and embezzlement cases, both in internal and government-facing investigations. It often acts on these types of engagements along with one or more of the GIR 30-ranked law firms.