BrazilAlvarez & Marsal launches Forensic Technology service in Seoul
Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal has launched its Forensic Technology Services offering in South Korea – with two new recruits joining in Seoul.
Currently in the process of beefing up its Disputes & Investigations practice across multiple geographies, global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal has now added its Forensic Technology Services line to its offerings in South Korea. To support the launch, the firm has recruited Kiyoung Nam and Jinhyung Jeong to its Disputes & Investigations practice as respectively Director and Senior Manager.
“We see a rising number of investigations and disputes in Korea leading to greater demand for forensic technology services,” said Davin Teo, Managing Director and Head of A&M’s Forensic Technology practice in Asia. “Having a local team in Korea to support these matters enhances our ability to help local, regional and international clients navigate cross-border disputes, investigations and regulatory matters.”
Regionally based out of Hong Kong, the consultancy’s Forensic Technology offering sits within its Disputes & Investigations practice and provides clients with services in digital investigations and e-Discovery support along with management for dispute matters. In addition to a raft of appointments in the US and Europe this, A&M last month welcomed forensics pioneer Chris Fordham to its disputes team in Asia.
Joining Fordham among A&M’s local D&I leadership ranks – along with Jean Chow-Callam who came on board earlier this year – will be fellow former Deloitte employees Kiyoung Nam and Jinhyung Jeong as Director and Senior Manager in Seoul, both who cross from senior vice president roles with AlixPartners in Korea. Previously together as managers at Deloitte, the pair joined AlixPartners in 2015.
According to an A&M press release, Nam – a specialist in litigation and dispute support related work – will be advising clients on data collection, transfer and data privacy risks in Korea involving Personal Information Protection Act 2016, while Jeong will be tasked with assisting clients in digital and internal investigations, fraud examination, data leakage analysis, intellectual property and e-Discovery matters.
Their switch to A&M continues the recent personnel merry-go-round among forensic consulting competitors in Asia. “We are committed to growing A&M’s Forensic Technology services in Asia and to meeting the evolving needs and challenges in the Korea market,” added Teo, who himself came to the firm in 2009 via IT forensics and audit stints at Grant Thornton in the UK and Ernst & Young’s Australian branch.
Meanwhile, A&M’s regional Disputes & Investigations head – Keith Williamson (also formerly of AlixPartners and Deloitte) – recently spoke of the evolving role of forensic accountants in an special report for the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants publication A Plus Magazine, highlighting the ever-growing use of technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence in forensic investigations.
“It was like finding a needle in a haystack – a ridiculously painstaking process. By human error alone, you still might miss that document you were looking for,” Williamson said of his time starting out in the industry 20 years ago and having to dig up a single document hidden among thousands of folders. Now; “If you’re a young forensic accountant and you have skills in data analytics, you’re a hot commodity.”
