Forensic Accounting
J.S. Held Strengthens Forensic Accounting Expertise for Marital and Commercial Disputes with Acquisition of Forensic Accountants & Consultants
Read MoreWe believe data is the source of truth. Backed by industry expertise and operational knowledge, we help our clients understand complex disputes, investigations, and compliance issues through rigorous data analytics and forensic investigation.
Our team brings decades of frontline experience—former CCOs, compliance officers, General Counsels, regulators, and industry practitioners—who understand how these businesses operate. We combine that industry perspective with forensic precision and proprietary analytics to reconstruct what the data reveals about relationships, transactions, market conditions, and decision-making. Whether you're navigating a customer dispute, managing a regulatory inquiry, conducting an internal investigation, or strengthening compliance infrastructure, we provide the clarity and defensible findings needed to understand what happened and why.
Combining direct industry knowledge with multidisciplinary expertise across the firm, we help clients navigate complex disputes, investigations, and compliance challenges. Our team includes experts with decades of experience across the financial services industry, including:
J.S. Held provides independent forensic analysis, expert testimony, and litigation support in complex financial services disputes and regulatory matters. Our experts evaluate trading activity, portfolio performance, suitability concerns, supervisory practices, business conduct, industry standards, market conditions, and damages-related issues using detailed financial and transactional analysis.
Engaged by financial institutions, advisors, investors, legal counsel, insurers, and other stakeholders, we provide objective opinions and expert testimony for FINRA arbitrations, litigation, regulatory inquiries, and other contested matters. Our findings help parties understand complex facts, assess financial impacts, and support fair and informed resolution.
Organizations facing regulatory scrutiny from FINRA, the SEC, state regulators, or other oversight bodies require a clear understanding of the underlying facts, potential exposure, and regulatory implications.
Our financial services experts help clients respond to investigations, examinations, inquiries, and enforcement matters by analyzing conduct, reconstructing events, reviewing trading activity, and assessing compliance with applicable regulations and industry standards, providing defensible insight for legal, regulatory, and business decision-making.
When concerns arise involving employee conduct, sales practices, trading activity, supervision, conflicts of interest, or potential fraud, J.S. Held conducts independent investigations grounded in data, evidence, and industry expertise. Our experts leverage advanced analytics to reconstruct transactions, identify patterns and anomalies, establish timelines, and evaluate relationships across complex financial activities.
We deliver objective findings that help organizations understand the facts, assess potential risks, respond to regulatory and legal concerns, and make informed decisions.
We assist broker-dealers and RIAs in evaluating and strengthening compliance programs, supervisory structures, surveillance frameworks, and governance processes.
Our experts assess existing controls, identify operational and regulatory gaps, benchmark practices against industry expectations, and develop practical remediation strategies. Whether supporting a proactive review or responding to a regulatory concern, we help improve compliance effectiveness, strengthen oversight, and manage evolving risks.
Our experts provide comprehensive financial analysis in complex disputes, investigations, and regulatory matters involving economic damages, business valuation, revenue attribution, lost profits, compensation issues, and book-of-business disputes.
Leveraging defensible methodologies and deep industry knowledge, we quantify financial impacts, evaluate competing claims, and deliver expertise in negotiations, settlements, arbitration, and litigation. Our analyses help clients understand exposure and make informed decisions in high-stakes matters.
We advise clients involved in advisor transition disputes, customer complaints, suitability reviews, Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) assessments, and market conduct matters. Our experts analyze account activity, investment recommendations, client migration patterns, sales practices, and supervisory oversight to evaluate conduct and adherence to applicable standards.
Our analyses help clients assess potential regulatory, compliance, and supervisory issues, understand financial and regulatory implications, quantify potential exposure, and support informed decision-making in disputes, investigations, and compliance reviews.
Our financial services experts examine trading activity, portfolio performance, suitability concerns, supervisory practices, business conduct, market conditions, and damages-related issues using detailed financial and transactional analysis. We combine frontline industry perspective with forensic analytics to reconstruct what the data reveals about relationships, transactions, market conditions, and decision-making. Engagements span customer disputes, regulatory inquiries and examinations, internal investigations, and reviews of compliance infrastructure.
Experts are typically retained when a matter turns on an independent reading of the financial facts — FINRA arbitrations, litigation, regulatory inquiries and enforcement matters, internal investigations, and proactive compliance reviews. We are engaged by financial institutions, advisors, investors, legal counsel, insurers, and other stakeholders. Engagement often begins early: our services include early case assessment and litigation strategy support, arbitration case assessment and damages analysis, and regulatory inquiry analysis and response.
Our team includes professionals with decades of experience across the financial services industry, including Certified Financial Analysts (CFA), Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE), Certified Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) professionals, Certified Public Accountants (CPA), Certified Securities Compliance Professionals (CSCP), forensic accountants, financial analysts, data analytics specialists, investigation specialists, FINRA and SEC regulatory experts, and former Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and General Counsels.
A regulatory matter is driven by an outside body — FINRA, the SEC, state regulators, or another oversight authority — so the analysis is directed at the underlying facts, potential exposure, and regulatory implications of conduct already under scrutiny. An internal investigation is initiated by the organization itself, usually over employee conduct, sales practices, trading activity, supervision, conflicts of interest, or potential fraud. Both draw on the same evidentiary work: reconstructing events and transactions, reviewing trading activity, establishing timelines, and evaluating relationships across complex financial activity.
Analysis is built from the transactional record: brokerage statements and trade execution data, account activity, investment recommendations, portfolio and performance data, supervisory and surveillance records, and compensation and book-of-business information. Our experts apply advanced analytics to this material to reconstruct transactions, identify patterns and anomalies, establish timelines, and evaluate relationships across complex financial activity. Where client migration is at issue, the review also includes client migration patterns and account activity over the relevant period.
Quantification draws on economic damages analysis, business valuation, revenue attribution, lost profits, compensation analysis, and book-of-business valuation, applied to the specific facts of the dispute. Our experts quantify financial impacts, evaluate competing claims, and provide analysis for negotiations, settlements, arbitration, and litigation. The objective is a defensible view of exposure that supports informed decisions in high-stakes matters.
These reviews examine account activity, investment recommendations, client migration patterns, sales practices, and supervisory oversight to evaluate conduct and adherence to applicable standards. The same analysis supports suitability reviews, Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) assessments, life insurance and annuity suitability analysis, and market conduct and surveillance analysis. Findings help clients assess potential regulatory, compliance, and supervisory issues, understand the financial and regulatory implications, and quantify potential exposure.
A review evaluates compliance programs, supervisory structures, surveillance frameworks, and governance processes. Our experts assess existing controls, identify operational and regulatory gaps, benchmark practices against industry expectations, and develop practical remediation strategies. This work includes compliance program development and gap analysis, trading surveillance and monitoring reviews, and regulatory compliance assessments and remediation. It can be undertaken as a proactive review or in response to a regulatory concern.
Still have questions?
J.S. Held provides consulting, forensic, compliance, and expert services. We do not provide legal or investment advice, act as a broker-dealer or investment adviser, or make investment recommendations. Engagement scope and conclusions depend on the facts, records, and circumstances of each matter, and past engagements do not guarantee any particular outcome.
