Forensics expert Rachel Layburn joins FTI’s team in Singapore

Former KPMG forensics partner Rachel Layburn has joined FTI Consulting’s Risk & Investigations practice in Singapore.

Rachael Layburn joins the Risk & Investigations practice (part of the Forensic and Litigation Consulting division) of the global professional services firm as a Senior Managing Director, bringing over 20 years of experience to the team, including stints at KPMG, PwC and Deloitte.

Crossing to FTI after the past year in an in-house role as Asia Pacific Group Head of Compliance with advertising giant WWP, Layburn spent the previous seven years with KPMG’s forensics team in China, reported to be the first Madarin-speaking forensics partner at a Big Four firm. As Head of Investigations she led KPMG’s forensics practice in Beijing, which now has over 40 professionals.

Earlier, she spent seven years between Deloitte and PwC, first joining the former in 2003 after a two-year stint as a financial analyst at Scotiabank in Canada. Starting out as an Auditor at Deloitte, Layburn would then switch for three years to PwC as a manager in its Investigations & Forensics practice, before finding herself back at Deloitte as head of its AML & Sanctions Services business in China.

Over the course of her career, Layburn has gained extensive experience in Asia and North America advising clients on matters relating to global anti-corruption laws, antitrust laws, securities laws, accounting and book-keeping standards, business ethics requirements and other internal control rules – while conducting both internal investigations and implementing compliance programmes.

“Rachel brings a unique combination of consulting and in-house experience working on compliance matters, including investigations and operationalising compliance programmes, and her leadership working with our teams in Singapore and China will be an excellent strategic complement to our Risk & Investigations practice,” said Beth Junell, who leads the practice in Asia.

According to a press release, Layburn will focus on complex, multi-disciplinary investigations and advising on compliance programme-related services in her new role at FTI, including for domestic organisations in Singapore and China. As such, she will work closely with FTI’s Data & Analytics, Export Controls, Sanctions & Trade, and Financial Crime Compliance practices across Asia.

“I am delighted to be joining FTI Consulting,” she said. “I look forward to leveraging the diverse platform and global network of experts to provide clients with the expertise and experience needed to navigate today’s dynamic and rapidly changing legal and regulatory landscape. It’s an exciting time to be part of FTI Consulting in Asia, and I look forward to contributing to our team’s growth.”