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tracefoldFORENSIC ACCOUNTING
Financial analyst examining a record at an archive worktable
Forensic accounting · Financial disputes

Follow
the facts.

Clear financial analysis.
A record you can follow.

Discuss the question ↗Explore the work ↓
Independent thinking. Carefully documented.
01 / THE QUESTION
Open archive drawer with cream source folders
01Original.
Close detail of a cream invoice and pencil
02Related record.
A finger keeping place in a financial record binder
03Working note.
Pencil and working note beside source papers
04Open question.

Start with
what is there.

Invoices, bank records, messages and working papers each show part of the picture.

Follow a transaction ↗
01 / The work

Complex records.
Clear questions.

Start with what needs to be understood, then follow the evidence.

01Financial investigations

Trace transactions, reconcile records and identify questions that need a closer look.

02Dispute support

Organize financial material into analysis that counsel can examine and use.

03Loss analysis

Make the assumptions, calculations and supporting records visible.

Two analysts comparing separate source records across a worktable
A person listening attentively at an archive worktable
Space to examine.
PATIENT WORK. DIRECT CONVERSATION.

Meet the team.

A financial question deserves time with the records and a clear conversation about what they can—and cannot—show.

  • Record organization.
  • Financial analysis.
  • Clear explanation.
Discuss your question ↗
Two people comparing separate source folders across a table
Space to ask.
02 / The thread that connects

Every conclusion
needs a trail.

Explore a simple example of how records connect.

An original invoice in close detail
Original record

Begin with the original.

An invoice gives the transaction its starting point, but does not tell the whole story.

Invoice
INV-014
Recorded amount
$8,400
Date
May 12
Cross-checking a financial record binder
Independent comparison

Compare independent records.

The bank record and ledger help show what was paid and how it was recorded.

Bank record
$8,400
Ledger entry
$8,400
Status
Reconciled in this example
Explaining a working note in conversation
Supported explanation

Show what the record supports.

Set out the connection and keep unanswered questions separate from established facts.

Source
Invoice INV-014
Comparison
Bank record + ledger
Open question
Business purpose

Illustrative example — invented records, not a client matter.

Agreement is
a question to test.

Put related records beside one another. Separate a match from an assumption.

Two blank sheets and a pencil arranged on a light table

Invoice

ReferenceINV-014
Amount$8,400
Business purposeNot established

Ledger

ReferenceINV-014
Amount$8,400
Business purposeNot established

Illustrative example. Matching entries do not establish business purpose.

Explore the method ↗
03 / The method

A method
you can examine.

Careful work should remain understandable at every stage.

WORKING PAPER / 01

Frame the question.

Agree the purpose, scope and records needed before drawing conclusions.

ScopeRecordsQuestions
Comparing source folders across a table
WORKING PAPER / 02

Work through the detail.

Reconcile sources, test the calculations and distinguish evidence from assumption.

SourceTestReconcile
A financial binder being cross-checked
WORKING PAPER / 03

Make it explainable.

Bring the analysis and its supporting trail into a clear, reviewable record.

FindingSupportLimitation
Discussing the explanation with the records at hand
Two analysts comparing records across an oak worktable
04 / Our perspective

Patient with the detail.

The work is exacting; the explanation should not be.

Sequence changes
the question.

Keep the date of an event separate from the date it was recorded or discovered.

What happened. A close view of working records.
01What happened.

Describe the event without filling gaps.

What was recorded. A close view of working records.
02What was recorded.

Keep the original date and source.

What was learned later. A close view of working records.
03What was learned later.

Record when new information arrived.

A chronology structure, not a case timeline.

See the organizing guide ↗
05 / The standard

Nothing hidden
in the footnotes.

A clear distinction between what is known and what remains open.

A working note beside a pencil and original records
01

Source-led

Keep the original record connected to the analysis.

02

Plainly explained

Make the calculation as understandable as the conclusion.

03

Open about limits

Name the assumptions and the gaps in the record.

Layered paper edges with a cobalt archival tab and pencil annotation

Make room for
what is not yet known.

A clear explanation includes its limits: missing records, assumptions and questions still open.

A needed record is not available.

An assumption remains to be tested.

A question remains open.

Bring the question ↗
A useful little read · 10 pages

Follow the record

A practical guide to organizing financial evidence before a dispute.

We will email your guide and save your request in our contact system. Privacy policy.

Read the contents
  1. Define the question
  2. Preserve original records
  3. Build the document index
  4. Trace a transaction
  5. Reconcile competing records
  6. Separate fact from assumption
  7. Prepare a clear chronology
A person listening across an archive worktableA different kind of accounting story.
06 / A clear next step

Clarity is a good
place to start.

Begin with the question, the records and what needs to be understood.

Tell Tracefold what needs attention, and find a practical starting point.

Arrange a conversation
What should we prepare?

A short outline of the matter, the questions you need answered and a list of available financial records.