Wednesday, 8 February 2023 KordaMentha is pleased to announce the appointment of four new specialists as demand for the firm’s Forensic service offerings increase. Adam Simms is joining as a Partner in Sydney, Andrew Howard a Partner in Brisbane, Chris Craner an Executive Director in Perth and Peter Chapman a Partner in Sydney. KordaMentha has established a strong presence with its trusted forensic experts having worked across Australia, Singapore, Jakarta, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Bolstering the firm’s existing capabilities in forensic accounting, disputes, investigations and forensic technology, the new hires will ensure the firm is able to meet the growing needs of its clients across the full Asia Pacific region. KordaMentha Forensic service line leader, Brian Wood, said “The uptick in demand is due to an increasing client focus on culture, integrity, governance and compliance which is driving increased regulatory oversight and a spotlight by organisations on their ability to comply with regulatory and community expectations. These areas of focus require clarity of the facts so our clients can make high stakes commercial decisions with confidence that those decisions will withstand the highest levels of public and legal scrutiny,” Mr Wood said. “Adam, Andrew, Chris and Peter all bring their own unique skillset from roles at organisations, such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and other professional services firms, allowing KordaMentha to continue to service our ever-growing client demand.” Forensic Partner and KordaMentha Investigations Leader, Matthew Fleming, said, “There is a growing need for objective and independent forensic services across the Australasian region. The environment for wrongdoing within our clients’ organisations is increasingly dynamic and we strive to stay ahead to prevent, detect and investigate on behalf of our clients. “The importance of independence, coupled with our breadth of knowledge and experience ensures the best outcomes for our clients in respect of factual investigations, fraud, corruption, forensic technology and financial crime.” Adam Simms has more than 25 years of investigation and financial crime risk management experience, which includes practising law and working within law enforcement, government agencies (State and Commonwealth), private consulting and financial institutions (banking and insurance). Adam’s substantial experience in anti-money laundering, fraud control and investigations has allowed him to provide solutions of varying complexity to both private and public sector clients. Andrew Howard has more than 20 years of experience working in Australia, the United Kingdom and throughout Europe and Asia. He has provided expert evidence in mediations and court matters and has worked in conjunction with various law enforcement and government agencies. Previously, Andrew has held commercial roles with responsibility for large-scale projects throughout Asia, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East. Chris Craner brings more than 30 years of policing experience, including executive leadership roles for the NSW Police Force and the AFP. As Chief Security Officer for the AFP he was responsible for the Security Command working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to promote a strong security culture and implement protective security measures to safeguard AFP people, operations, information, systems and assets. Peter Chapman joins KordaMentha from KPMG, where he was Director of Forensic Technology. His responsibilities included management of a forensic technology, IT incident response and electronic discovery consulting team, provision of external consulting on IT governance issues, and training regarding internal and external threats. Prior to KPMG, Peter held a similar role at PwC, and was an Acting Sergeant in the NSW Police High Tech Crime Unit. Media contact Tim Fogarty | [email protected] | 0400 179 075.