Alex Bell

Partner - Financial Advisory
Forensic Consulting

Built on over 20 years forensic consulting experience across Australia and the UK, Alex knows what it takes to achieve the right forensic outcome.

Alex believes that a successful forensic engagement starts with an experienced understanding of what is at stake, before being able to successfully navigate through highly complex environments to achieve the right result.

Alex thrives on building warm relationships with stakeholders, being able to understand the dynamics at play, before applying advanced forensic skills to drive sound commercial outcomes for his clients.

Alex has gained extensive experience across many high profile and complex litigation and investigation assignments. Alex has given expert evidence in the Federal Court of Australia, Supreme Court of New South Wales, District Court of New South Wales and prepared an expert report for the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Alex has extensive experience in the recalculation of amounts due under Modern Awards and/or Enterprise Agreements over historical periods, often involving thousands of employees. He also regularly acts as the Independent Expert of Independent Auditor in Enforceable Undertakings with the Fair Work Ombudsman. These roles consider whether historical underpayments have been recalculated correctly, whether current payroll payments were correctly calculated and whether payroll processes are in compliance with the Fair Work Act.

 Expertise

• Expert witness
• Investigations
• Valuations
• Forensic Accounting
• Payroll Assurance

Significant engagements include:

• Consideration of ‘True Value” of businesses in multiple warranty and indemnity claims
• Multiple historical recalculation of employees in large commercial enterprises
• Acting as the Independent Auditor and Independent Assessor in Enforceable Undertakings with the Fair Work Ombudsman
• Tracing over $30m of allegedly misappropriated funds from an overseas entity to assets in Australia
• Assessment of relocation claims and business valuations from the compulsory acquisition of properties
• A dispute concerning the alleged misappropriation by a governing body of over $20 million of funds from a school over a 15 year period
• Investigation into whether information of a confidential settlement had been leaked to the media
• Investigations of the alleged fraudulent provision of goods to a customer without invoicing
• Investigations into cyber-fraud attacks
• Calculation of the loss of profits due to the termination of contracts
• Day-to-day leader of the compliance expert team appointed by ASIC to consider a major bank's historical issues with its wealth management area
• Reviewing the actual and forecast financial information provided to a purchaser of a >$1bn transaction following claims that the results pre-transaction had been manipulated
• Consideration of the alleged falsification of a company's accounts (and whether those accounts were prepared in accordance with accounting standards), causation and economic loss issues in relation to a defamation claim against a leading Australian newspaper
• Assessment of costs spent by a government agency in a failed major transport project