Forensic and Valuation Services

Featured Testimonial: Damages Valuation in a Trade Secret Dispute

In a federal litigation, GreerWalker testified as a damages expert on behalf of a paper packaging manufacturer. The manufacturer alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of a confidentiality agreement, among other causes of action, against a former employee and a competitor. GreerWalker prepared an expert report and supporting analysis that included opinions on the manufacturer’s alleged lost profits and the competitor’s alleged unjust enrichment. GreerWalker also provided opinions on a reasonable royalty rate associated with the alleged trade secrets and confidential information. GreerWalker testified in a deposition and assisted counsel in preparation for the examination of the opposing parties’ damages expert. The matter settled shortly after expert depositions.

Financial Damages and Other Analyses or Investigations

• Shareholder Dispute and Oppression
• Theft of Trade Secrets
• Post Acquisition M&A Disputes
• Construction Claims Preparation and Analysis
• Breach of Contract
• Business Interruption Claims
• Marital Disputes

Trial Consulting and Testifying Services

• Assistance with Discovery
• Assistance with Depositions or Cross-Examinations
• Developing Case Strategy
• Expert Witness Testimony

Featured Testimonial: Manufacturing Contract Investigation and Damages Opinion

“Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP engaged GreerWalker to investigate and quantify alleged overbillings to our client, a multi-national food products manufacturer, over a multi-year period, by its warehousing and distribution partner. GreerWalker personnel conducted a complex, technology-driven investigation using data mining software to analyze and quantify cumulative contractual overbillings in excess of $35 million. We testified as to the conclusions and opinions of GreerWalker’s investigation at a trial in federal court. The jury awarded damages exactly equal to GreerWalker’s quantification amount, resulting in a total trebled damages award in excess of $100 million. GreerWalker’s first-rate work was a key part of our significant favorable outcome for our client.”

GreerWalker has built a solid reputation of working with attorneys to uncover hidden assets, fraudulent conveyances, and embezzlement. Our professionals also have a working knowledge of U.S. Department of Justice guidelines and provide guidance on how to conduct internal interviews and investigations, including the type of business records to request and steps to take to explore other avenues of discovery. In addition, we frequently advise our clients on measures to prevent fraud from occurring in the first place, including evaluation of internal control systems and related corporate governance practices.

GreerWalker’s experience in identifying and investigating fraud include:

• Fraudulent Financial Reporting
• Employee Embezzlement
• Payments to Phantom Employees or Vendors
• Excess Payments to Legitimate Vendors
• Fraudulent Conveyances in Bankruptcy

GreerWalker also works with business owners to provide other forensic accounting services such as:

• Failure to Comply with Regulatory Procedures
• Internal Accounting Control Analysis and Evaluation
• Data Extraction Analysis Services

Debtor Advisory Services

In a turnaround situation, liquidity equates to opportunity and is typically one of our first priorities. Our professionals implement tools, techniques and models to stabilize the company’s cash flow. This gives you time to facilitate a restructuring that makes financial sense.

• Short-term cash management and monitoring
• Cash flow forecasting
• Working capital management
• Vendor management

Turnarounds are highly complex and occasionally chaotic processes, often involving numerous parties, significant planning and analysis, and a high degree of coordination among numerous work streams. For most clients, this is unfamiliar territory. Our professionals are experienced at supporting and guiding management teams through it, while allowing them to manage the day-to-day operations of the business and the successful revitalization of the company.

• Turnaround strategy development and execution
• Financial modeling
• Negotiations with interested parties
• Contingency planning
• Selling Business in Distressed Situations
• Chief Restructuring Officer and Receiverships

Unsecured Creditors Committees
We also advise secured and unsecured creditors in distressed situations, leveraging our extensive knowledge and experience to provide critical analysis and advice to assist creditors with maximizing recoveries. Our services include the following:

• Assessing short-term and long-term liquidity needs.
• Evaluating operations and reasonableness of business plans.
• Determining enterprise value.
• Analyzing debt service capabilities and designing appropriate capital structures on a post-emergence basis.
• Negotiating executable restructuring programs by building consensus within the group of creditors represented and negotiating with other relevant stakeholders.
• Investigating intercompany transactions and potential fraudulent conveyances.
• Leading and supporting strategic transaction processes including asset sales.

Bankruptcy Related Litigation
Based on our strength as forensic and litigation experts, we also provide investigative and forensic accounting services – and our professional opinions stand up to the scrutiny of the court. As part of the bankruptcy process we are often called on to assist in litigation-related roles, such as:

• Preference analysis
• Fraudulent conveyance evaluation
• Solvency opinions
• Litigation support
• Expert witness services

Valuing an ongoing business involves more than an appraisal of the underlying assets, it requires an analysis of constantly changing financial information. Our team’s practical experience with a broad range of financial and tax matters, as well as with all the generally accepted valuation approaches and methods, enables us to perform reasoned, objective, and defensible opinions of value. We can help in a variety of different areas including:

• Stockholder buy / sell agreements
• Shareholder disputes
• Bankruptcy and solvency issues
• Income tax
• Litigation and damage calculations
• Estate and gift tax valuations
• Review of IRS valuations
• Family Limited Partnerships and LLCs
• Purchase price allocations (SAS 141)
• Stock option plans
• Minority interest transactions and claims
• Marital dissolution valuations

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

High-cost drug reimbursements dispute

GreerWalker assisted a regional nonprofit health system in its arbitration with a large, national health insurer. The parties disputed reimbursement rates for high-cost drugs under facility participation agreements, including how contractual payment provisions applied to eligible charges and specified revenue codes. GreerWalker was retained by counsel to analyze the relevant agreements, reimbursement provisions, and financial data to evaluate the health system’s potential economic damages.

Physician services reimbursements dispute

A physician practice group and a national health insurer disputed the insurer’s unilateral implementation of reduced reimbursement rates and subsequent recoupment of prior payments under a provider participation agreement. GreerWalker was retained to analyze claims-level billing and reimbursement data, evaluate the economic impact of the alleged rate changes, review competing damages theories, assess the insurer’s claims analyses and expert opinions, and quantify damages attributable to the disputed reimbursement methodology. GreerWalker developed and validated a detailed claims database covering more than 29,000 claims, performed contract-rate and CMS-rate analyses, categorized and reconciled claim populations, quantified damages associated with the challenged rate changes, prepared affirmative and rebuttal expert reports, and provided deposition testimony in arbitration.

False Claims Act overpayment dispute

A multisite physician practice and its executive faced federal and state False Claims Act allegations that they had concealed Medicare and Medicaid overpayments, retained duplicate payments, and used temporary billing accounts to move or obscure unapplied funds. GreerWalker was retained by defense counsel to analyze and critique the plaintiffs’ damages claims and expert opinions, evaluate the purpose and activity of the disputed billing accounts, and determine whether the underlying accounting records supported the alleged misconduct. GreerWalker analyzed general-ledger activity across multiple practice locations, sampled claims and transactions, and reviewed supporting documentation for selected transactions.

CAPABILITIES

• Claims-level data assembly and validation
• Contract rate and reimbursement analysis and audits
• Identification and quantification of variances and denials
• Damages and reimbursement quantification
• Consulting, arbitration, and expert testimony support