Disputes & forensic accounting
Uncovering inflated contractor claims on a coal megaproject
KordaMentha Forensic helped a principal challenge over $500 million in contractor claims on a coal infrastructure project. Our analysis revealed extensive overstatements, enabling a confidential settlement.
Related Industries
Energy & Natural ResourcesAs principal on a multi-billion-dollar coal infrastructure project, our client faced contractor claims for cost variations and delays exceeding $500 million.
The volume and complexity of the supporting documentation made it difficult to verify suspicions of overstatement.
KordaMentha Forensic was engaged to determine whether the contractor’s claims were supported by its own data. The matter involved hard-fought claims and cross-claims, with significant financial and reputational implications.
We assembled a multi-disciplinary team to interrogate the data and present findings in a format suitable for legal proceedings. The results were both startling and irrefutable, with the contractor’s own records undermining the basis of its claims.
How we helped
We brought together forensic accountants, data analysts and quantity surveyors to examine the contractor’s documentation. Over 20,000 hard copy timesheets were digitised and matched against three versions of electronic payroll data – totalling more than one million rows. All data was cleansed and ingested into a SQL database for comparison against independent sources.
We converted disparate data sources into a unified digital format, enabling consistent analysis. Discrepancies between payroll and timesheet records were identified, revealing attempts to obscure key information. Our team detected implausible labour claims, including instances where workers were billed for more than 24 hours in a single day. We found that over 40% of the contractor’s claims were not supported by its own data. These insights were presented through customised dashboards, allowing the principal to investigate anomalies in real time. The visualisations were compelling enough to support direct engagement with the contractor, bypassing legal teams.
Outcomes acheived
- Data manipulation exposed: We uncovered alterations in payroll records that were intended to conceal relevant information.
- Implausible labour claims identified: Our analysis revealed that workers were claimed for more than 24 hours in a single day.
- Unsupported claims quantified: We determined that over 40% of the contractor’s claims lacked evidentiary support.
- Real-time dashboards deployed: The principal was able to investigate suspicious areas of the project at both macro and micro levels.
- Legal strategy informed: Our findings were presented in formats suitable for use in legal proceedings.
- Direct resolution enabled: The principal used our analysis to engage the contractor directly, without lawyers present.
- Confidential settlement reached: The dispute was resolved on undisclosed terms.
- Value protected: Our work helped the principal avoid significant financial exposure.
