FinancialProofReview

When the cost of forensic accounting doesn’t fit the matter yet

Scoped forensic accounting — not the biggest engagement by default

The largest forensic-accounting engagements can easily reach $5,000–$15,000 or more before expert testimony is involved. Hopkins Forensic scopes engagements to the matter and the question presented — for many matters, the right starting point is organized, source-referenced records; where the matter calls for it, the same engagement includes loss calculations, damages schedules, tracing, and restitution-support summaries.

Built by Hopkins Forensic. Powered by StatementProof workpapers.

What a full forensic engagement costs

The cost of traditional forensic accounting — and where it goes

Full-scale forensic-accounting engagements bill by the hour, and a standard engagement covering three to five bank accounts over two years can easily reach $5,000–$15,000 or more before any trial-ready expert report or testimony is involved. That scope is appropriate when the matter requires a Daubert-ready methodology report or sworn testimony. It is not always the right starting scope at the pre-litigation or early-litigation stage, when what is actually needed first is the financial records organized, reconciled, and — where the matter calls for it — calculated into loss, damages, or restitution figures. Hopkins Forensic scopes each engagement to match what the matter actually needs at that stage, rather than defaulting to the largest, most expensive engagement scope.

What FinancialProofReview does

Organized financial records, scoped forensic-accounting work

FinancialProofReview organizes financial records — bank statements, credit card records, invoices, EOBs, vendor ledgers, transfer histories, and supporting documents — into workpaper-style schedules, and, where the engagement is scoped for it, into loss calculations, damages schedules, tracing analysis, and restitution-support summaries. The output is a structured, source-referenced record base that attorneys, CPAs, fiduciaries, and reviewers can work from directly. A narrow, entry-level engagement such as the StatementProof Starter Review is statement-face workpaper review and does not include a full damages opinion unless separately scoped; broader Hopkins Forensic engagements are scoped to include that work directly. Trial-ready expert testimony, when needed, is a separately retained and separately scoped engagement.

When this fits

Matters where organized records are the right first step

  • Your attorney needs organized bank records before discovery strategy is set
  • You suspect financial exploitation of an elder family member and need records organized before engaging counsel
  • You are in a divorce matter and need marital financial records organized before your attorney engages a forensic expert
  • You are a trustee, beneficiary, or fiduciary reviewing an accounting and need the underlying records organized for comparison
  • You have a vendor payment dispute, insurance reimbursement issue, or other records-intensive financial matter and need records organized for attorney or CPA review
  • You are in a business dispute and need the financial records organized before strategy is set
  • The matter is real but a full forensic retainer is not proportionate to the claim at this stage
  • You need a law-enforcement-adjacent financial record review without a full forensic expert engagement

When you need more

When a trial-ready expert engagement is the right call

Hopkins Forensic performs scoped forensic-accounting work, including loss calculations, damages schedules, tracing analysis, and restitution-support summaries where the engagement is scoped for it. What is separate is trial-ready expert testimony: if the matter is heading toward trial, requires a Daubert-ready methodology report, or requires sworn expert testimony, that is a separately retained and separately scoped expert-witness engagement. Hopkins Forensic prepares the underlying records and damages/loss schedules that engagement will build from when scoped and supported by the records — which may reduce the time spent on record organization and calculation — but the expert-testimony engagement itself is scoped and retained separately.

Which review fits

FinancialProofReview add-ons organized by matter type

The right starting point depends on the records available and the question that needs answering. Common starting points:

How it works

Intake, scope, and secure record transfer

Intake is through a written scope review. You describe the matter, the accounts involved, the time period, and what the records need to show. FinancialProofReview confirms scope and record availability, then indexes, organizes, and delivers a workpaper-style schedule. All record transfer is handled through a secure document exchange — not email. Record handling and retention are addressed as part of the engagement scope.

What this is and is not

Scoped forensic-accounting work — not legal advice or a legal conclusion

Hopkins Forensic performs scoped forensic-accounting work: organizing financial records into workpaper-style schedules and, depending on scope, producing loss calculations, damages schedules, restitution-support summaries, questioned-cost schedules, fiduciary shortfall analysis, tracing analysis, and source-referenced exhibits. Hopkins Forensic does not make charging decisions, court rulings, official agency determinations, or legal conclusions; legal liability, criminal intent, fiduciary breach, recoverability, and final remedies remain with counsel, the client, the agency, insurer, court, or other authorized decision-maker. It does not provide legal advice. Trial-ready expert testimony, if needed, is a separately retained and separately scoped expert-witness engagement. The usefulness of any schedule depends on the completeness and availability of the records.

Methodology

Built on StatementProof workpapers

StatementProof is the structured workpaper system behind FinancialProofReview. Each engagement runs through the same disciplined process: source documents are indexed, transactions are reconciled, and findings are organized into reviewer-grade workpapers rather than narrative memos.

Hopkins Forensic engagements are led by a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) with subject-matter expertise in forensic accounting, fraud examination, and financial-record review. Reviews are conducted from a fraud-examination perspective and produce workpaper-style analysis, summaries, timelines, and issue lists. The work is financial-record review support, not legal advice, law-enforcement authority, charging decisions, or trial-ready expert testimony unless separately scoped.

The methodology is operated by Hopkins Forensic, an independent forensic-accounting firm.

Start here

Start with the records available

If the financial records need organization before counsel, expert, or CPA review — or if the cost of a full forensic engagement is not yet proportionate to the matter — the first step is an intake review to confirm scope and record availability.

Start a review intake

About this review service

FinancialProofReview and Hopkins Forensic provide forensic accounting and financial-record review support. Hopkins Forensic performs scoped forensic-accounting work — engagements are tailored to the records, question presented, and intended use, and depending on scope the work includes StatementProof workpapers, tracing schedules, loss calculations, damages schedules, restitution-support summaries, questioned-cost schedules, fiduciary shortfall analysis, source-referenced exhibits, and written methodology support. They are not a law firm or an expert-witness service, and do not provide legal advice or trial testimony as part of a standard engagement. Hopkins Forensic does not make charging decisions, court rulings, official agency determinations, or legal conclusions; legal liability, criminal intent, fiduciary breach, recoverability, and final remedies remain with counsel, the client, the agency, insurer, court, or other authorized decision-maker. The scope and usefulness of any review depends on the records available.