Location: Australia

The FAS Focus – Edition 3

In this issue of the FAS Focus, Pablo Diago, Senior Manager, from Singapore discusses how a forensic accountant can assist with early assessment of mitigation options by providing robust business case analysis.

In our second article, Paul Russell, Partner, from Sydney looks at the various forms of accounting evidence and admissibility within the Australian legal system; contrasting between expert evidence of fact and expert evidence of opinion.

With this issue we also welcome a new Director, Daniel Djanogly who has recently joined FAS in our London, UK office.

Click here to download The FAS Focus – Edition 3

The FAS Focus – Edition 4

In our first article, Terri Adams – Senior Manager in our London office, looks at how recent examples of cyber incidents are focusing attention across a range of insurance issues – including policy response issues, the adequacy of policy limits and the increased forensic analysis required in assessing claims.

In our second article, Domenic Quartullo, Litigation Partner in our Sydney office, looks at situations when an entity’s annual financial statements are not “fit for purpose” or sufficient when seeking to satisfy the varied objectives arising in commercial and other dispute proceedings.

With this issue we also welcome Jeffrey Cornwell who has been appointed head of Forensic Advisory Services in the U.S. as part of our expansion of services in the Americas.

Click here to download The FAS Focus – Edition 4

The FAS Focus – Edition 2

Welcome to the second edition of FAS Focus, providing insights and analysis into the world of forensic accounting and business valuation. In this edition, we cover business valuation and insurance related topics. We also introduce four experts who have recently joined FAS.

In the first article, Domenic Quartullo, a valuations partner from our Sydney office, highlights that a profitable small business may not necessarily be valuable if it is heavily reliant on its owners’ continued participation. He explores the distinction between business and personal factors in understanding the drivers of a business and their likely effect on value.

Kimberley Daley, head of FAS Australia, then reflects on how business interruption policies and Insurers responded to the insurance related aspects following the Lindt Cafe terrorist event, referred to in the Australian media as “the Sydney Siege”.

Finally, we introduce four new experts who have recently joined FAS, and who bring a broad range of skills and experience to the team.

Click here to download The FAS Focus – Edition 2

The FAS Focus – Edition 1

Welcome to the first edition of the FAS Focus. As FAS expands around the globe, we are merging our client updates and newsletters into one international update, the “FAS Focus”. The FAS Focus will provide an insight into the fascinating world of forensic accounting and feature analysis on topical issues and insights from case studies. Our experts will cover topics from across our practice areas which include insurance, dispute resolution, financial investigations, business valuation and corporate advisory.

Click here to download The FAS Focus – Edition 1

 

Cunningham Lindsey launches Major & Complex Loss Review

Cunningham Lindsey, the market-leading loss adjusting and claims management company, today launched its 2015 Major and Complex Loss Review, which gives a bird’s eye view of a number of case studies ranging from the recent explosions in Tianjin to the theft of rare religious relics.

Neil Gibson, UK Loss Adjusting Services Director, said: “Almost every day we are seeing increasing loss estimates from the explosions in Tianjin – a vivid reminder that many of the losses faced by the insurance industry are catastrophic and complex. Tianjin exemplified many of the trends we have seen in the cases contained in this year’s report. For example, there was a wide spread of claims from contamination to contingent business interruption, the need for local expertise to overcome the access issues and to gather information, and specialist support was required from across our network.”

“Adjusting a major loss demands technical excellence, but this alone is not enough. Firstly the need for in-depth specialist knowledge is reiterated time and again in our case studies. We have cases where the difference between success and failure has rested on having a specific knowledge of how to store cocoa beans, the judicial complexities of France and Belgium or the historic value of a religious relic. Clients are looking for this deep understanding of either an industry or specialist subject.”

“However, expertise is only effective if it is delivered promptly, to the exact point of need. No one knows when disaster might strike, so the ability to scale up and wherever our clients need us is vital. If the right expertise is not available in the region where the loss has occurred, we can put specialists on a plane and get them onsite within hours. When a week of storms turned the Australian state of New South Wales on its head, we had the flexibility and international resources to fly staff from New Zealand, the UK, South Africa and Canada to help with both property and business interruption losses.”

“As these case studies demonstrate, dealing with major and complex losses is the very opposite of a faceless, process-driven approach. The commercial angle to any major loss is a significant and delicate issue, with the policyholder and their insurer often having a differing understanding of the policy wordings or desired outcomes. As this year’s report illustrates, losses vary enormously, by country or by cause – but the key elements of the solution remain constant: the right person, in the right place at the right time.”

You can read the review here: Cunningham Lindsey MCL Review 2015 (003)

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For further press information, please contact
Caroline Wagstaff Tel: +44 (0)7767 794208

Rebuilding Christchurch


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Over 90% of claims from the Christchurch quakes have been settled, but that still leaves a significant number of losses unresolved.

It is over five years since the first serious earthquake occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, and there have been nearly 14,000 aftershocks. The 6.3M quake on 22 February 2011 killed 185 people, destroyed much of the inner city and rendered several suburbs permanently uninhabitable. Cunningham Lindsey has been involved in approximately 30,000 claims and has surveyed in excess of 60,000 damaged properties.


  • The Challenge:

    Before the earthquakes the Cunningham Lindsey New Zealand company had 185 staff. We lost both Christchurch offices during the earthquakes, but thankfully none of our staff or their families were seriously injured.

  • The Solution:

    At the height of the earthquake response, our numbers swelled to over 550, and many of the additional adjusters came from Cunningham Lindsey in Australia, the UK, South Africa, Canada, Spain and the US. In normal times the New Zealand office has five chartered accountants. At one stage after the earthquakes we had 56 accountants on board to handle nearly 6,000 earthquake business interruption claims, dealing with customers under great stress, many with businesses and homes in ruins.

Finding proof of fraud, where little evidence exists


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Alarm bells rang when a fire occurred at a warehouse owned by a business that supplied advanced technological components. While the business did not appear to be in difficulty, arson was suspected.

The total material damage and business interruption claim was estimated at more than £1,000,000, including damaged stock totalling more than £350,000.

On the basis of the forensic fire analysis, detailed field work by our fraud investigator and financial analysis by our forensic accountant, the cumulative weight of evidence was enough for the insurer to deny liability on the basis of arson and insurance fraud.


  • The Challenge:

    A “high-level” review indicated the business was generally sound, however a fire expert concluded the blaze had been deliberate.

  • The Solution:

    A detailed investigation including witness statements, fire analysis and forensic accounting uncovered both a motive (the desire by owners to change the business model) and strong evidence for arson.

2015 Australian storms and floods


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A spate of hailstorms and cyclones caused widespread damage throughout New South Wales and Queensland during the early part of 2015, with claims reaching US$1.5bn

We worked closely with insurers and brokers to make sure policyholders received the best possible service.

We quickly mobilised local teams including technical loss adjusters, restorers, building consultants, engineers and forensic accountants to provide immediate assistance, with our 24/7 Customer Services Centre in Wollongong ensuring priority was given to the worst-affected customers.


  • The Challenge:

    After a succession of natural catastrophes, including hail storms, cyclones and floods, the damage ranged from minor water damage of homes through to total commercial building collapse and business interruption. In total, the industry received over 170,000 claims that it needed to assess and process as quickly as possible.

  • The Solution:

    Cunningham Lindsey stepped up its response, establishing Catastrophe Management Offices for each event, setting up Customer Care Teams in Melbourne, Parramatta, Adelaide and Brisbane and bringing in 20 experts from the UK, New Zealand and US, experienced in the complexities of severe storm losses, to support local teams.

New Team of Engineering Technical Specialists Join Major & Complex Loss Australia

MCL welcomes 4 new Specialist Engineering Adjusters to Brisbane and Melbourne.

We are delighted to announce the addition of a brand new team of engineering technical specialists, further enhancing the strength of the MCL Engineering Team. Now based in 4 major locations across Australia, our engineering team provide specialist electrical electronic and mechanical engineering services throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

The engineering team is led by Alan Page, a qualified electrician, electrical engineer and loss adjuster with over 32 years experience in both mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines. Alan has extensive experience in steel manufacturing, mining and quarrying, heavy industry engineering and manufacturing, power generation and distribution, agriculture and forestry engineering, potable water and waste water treatment plants, and electrical engineering design and electrical installations inspections. Highly experienced in commanding large value claims, Alan is a well-regarded technical expert having acted as the specialist adjuster for engineering claims on a number of major loss adjusting teams handling claims up to $30m in value.

The team also includes:

Barry Nye – Senior Adjuster – Brisbane

John Derbyshire – Loss Adjuster – Brisbane

Fi Page – Claims Assistant – Brisbane

Glen Crawford – Senior Adjuster – Melbourne

For more information, please contact Alan at:

E. [email protected]

M. +61 411 878 140

Mark Thompson appointed Head of MCL and CEO Cunningham Lindsey International

Cunningham Lindsey are pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Thompson as Global Head of MCL and CEO of Cunningham Lindsey International, replacing Rupert Travis.

Mark is currently Head of our MCL team in Australia; he is an excellent match for this role: having both loss adjusting and insurance forensic accounting practices. He has extensive international experience, particularly in Asia, Africa and the Americas; and he has a strong understanding of the London market from his time managing Xchanging Claims Services. We are delighted that Mark has accepted this position and are confident that he will lead the MCL and International teams to further growth, as he returns to London on 17th March to take up this position.