Accounting for change - Portland Business Journal:

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Demand from business clients is up for litigationm andforensic accounting, accountants in the Portland area say. Valuationm work linked to mergers and acquisitionswhas fallen. And tighter credit has increased the need for even smal l private businesses to compile financia statements that meet the strict standardw of their larger has seen an increase in lawsuits by shareholders against individualsand corporations, whicnh has heightened demand for forensic accounting and fraud said William Holmes, managin partner.
The Portland firm consulte on behalf of investors in the case againsft Oregon venture capitalist Craig Jurors penalizedhim $28 million last year, after concludingg that Berkman had misused funds and lied aboutr his investments. Similar litigation continues to occupgthe firm, Holmes said, though he declined to specifyt open cases. Geffen Mesher & Co. has experiences an increase in demand for some anddecreases elsewhere. The Portland firm has historicallyy offered valuation work centered around merger and acquisition saidMike Rompa, managing shareholder. But mergers and acquisitionws havedried up, cutting into demanr for those services. Meanwhile, forensic accounting work is up.
“Durinf tough economic times, fraudulent activity does Rompa said. Business clients are increasingly calling on Geffen Mesher to review their internal controls and identify possiblerfraudulent activity. Geffen Mesher is also preparing more compledx financial reports for small and private Banks have grown more cautious aboutmaking loans, and increasinglt require businesses to submit financial statements that adhered to the U.S. Generally Accepted Accountinhg Principles, Rompa said.
This has created work for accounting firm that specialize in small andprivatde businesses, which historically have not had to use accounting principles developed for larger, public “The more prolific the accounting standards are, the more difficulg the smaller business finds it to comply with thosd standards,” Rompa said. “The cost of compliance has skyrocketed.” Thosed stricter standards are the result of increased scrutingon banks, which has created work for accountingf firm of Portland.
The firm countsx a number of banks amongits clients, said partner Mark As bad loans take a toll on bank balances sheets, state and federal regulators have required many banks to conduct thorouggh reviews of their loans, generating work for the banks’ Demand across business clients is up for strategi c planning help, Business clients face slim profif margins, or even losses, and are calling on accountant s to identify strategic moves, Symondsa said. “Nobody knows how long this recessionj is goingto last, but we can help clientss identify changes they may need to make to business Holmes and Co. has likewise seen an uptick in this kind ofconsultinf work.
The firm has adopted a policyt ofopen access, investin in communications technology to make employees accessible arounrd the clock. “Clients have a lot of anxiety abouttheifr future, their families, their banking Holmes said. “We don’t want to create more anxiety by notbeingh available.”