Home: Clarity out of complexity

Reviewed a business interruption claim of €50million brought by a German industrial chemical manufacturer following an explosion in its production process. This included analysis of the various product markets and the economics of importing from US affiliated companies.

A platinum mining house claimed a $100m in loss of gross profit and increased costs of working following an explosion at its recently commissioned new smelter. Given the limited operating history of the smelter, refractory experts were called in to support quantification of the loss. A production and financial model was created to aid in calculations. The loss was successfully settled for under $20m.

Following a fire at a plant in Poland, a component supplier to the automobile industry claimed a US $30 million loss. We reviewed and separated out the impact of the auto industry downturn from the impact of the fire.

Appointed as an adjudicator by the City Disputes Panel in a multi-million pound class action. Assisted in quantifying the impact of a breach of contract in the Financial Services sector. Following determination of liability, evaluated the quantum of the case.

One of the world's largest petrochemicals companies suffered damage to fifteen Gulf Coast facilities following Hurricane Ike, resulting in a claim for financial losses of about US$500 million. We were appointed in the arbitration to quantify the business interruption losses, taking into account the impact of the economic downturn, market volatility in product margins, production make-up and constraints imposed by integration of upstream and downstream plants. Calculations were complicated by the timing with the global financial crisis.

A US Marine Corps contracting officer was accused of accepting bribes from contractors while deployed to Iraq and court martial charges were brought. We were engaged by the US Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps to quantify the alleged bribes.

An international law firm instructed us to review a claim for reconstruction costs after a turbine fire at a South African power station. Initial claim data disclosed was compiled manually and deemed unreliable. Working in South Africa with the station’s IT staff, our Forensic Technology team obtained the necessary data from SAP accounts systems to reconcile the original claim presented. A revised claim schedule was submitted and successfully used by the claimant’s and defendant’s experts.

A United Nations agency sought to improve its internal audit and fraud investigation protocols. Guidelines and procedure manuals were prepared for both internal audit and fraud investigators to be used as a reference by the agency's global staff.