Forensic & Investigative Accounting
When financial records don’t align with expectations or information is unclear, trust can erode quickly—especially in nonprofits, tax-exempt organizations, and trusts where accountability is essential. Leadership transitions, internal disputes, grant compliance questions, or new regulatory burdens can create situations where even well-intentioned teams are uncertain about the accuracy or completeness of financial information.
Fiscal Highlands provides specialized forensic and investigative accounting services designed to bring clarity, stability, and confidence to organizations and trustees navigating complex financial situations.
┃WHO THIS IS FOR┃
Fiscal Highland’s investigative accounting services are designed for organizations and individuals facing financial uncertainty, including:
Boards and executive leadership noticing unusual financial trends
Trustees or fiduciaries managing questioned allocations or disputed distributions
Attorneys seeking neutral financial review or documentation for legal matters
Nonprofits, foundations, or trusts preparing for audits, inquiries, or potential litigation
With guidance grounded in both law and accounting, boards, executives, audit committees, and legal counsel can move forward with confidence, knowing issues are addressed thoroughly and professionally. Whether responding to a specific concern or proactively assessing internal systems, Fiscal Highlands provides investigative support to safeguard assets and protect organizational credibility.
┃WHEN TO CALL┃
Common situations that trigger engagement include:
Restricted fund activity or donor-directed gifts appearing inconsistent
Revenue recognition questions or unclear internal reporting
Possible commingling of funds between related entities
Unexpected staff departures affecting financial continuity
Internal disagreements affecting governance or decision-making
Regulatory inquiries, audits, or oversight reviews
It’s important to note that note every engagement signals fraud or nefarious activity. Financial challenges in the nonprofit sector often arise from a myriad of hurdles including (but not limited to); leadership transitions, internal disputes, governance concerns, evolving accounting systems, inexperienced staff, grant compliance questions, or new regulatory burdens. Individually or collectively, these scenarios and others often require analysis and guidance from a neutral expert with knowledge of both legal and financial implications.
With Fiscal Highlands, boards of directors, executive leadership, audit committees, and legal counsel can help get to the bottom of complex financial situations and move forward with confidence.
Nonprofit Financial Investigations
Financial integrity is foundational to nonprofit leadership. Questions around restricted funds, donor intent, revenue recognition, or the separation of funds between affiliated entities rarely stem solely from technical accounting errors—they often reflect deeper operational, governance, or procedural gaps.
“I approach nonprofit investigations as both an attorney and a CPA. When revenue integrity is questioned, the issue is bigger than the ledger.”
— Ben Palkowski, Attorney, CPA
Forensic and investigative accounting engagements with Fiscal Highlands most often involve matters unique to tax-exempt organizations.
These include restricted fund compliance, grant restrictions, revenue characterization, timing of recognition, and questions involving commingling of funds across related entities. These issues frequently surface during periods of staff turnover, executive transition, rapid fundraising growth, or finance department restructuring.
Common triggering events include the unexpected resignation of a controller or CFO who managed revenue processes, regulatory inquiries regarding donations or grant compliance, increasing board scrutiny over financial reporting clarity, or internal concerns involving possible misuse of funds.
Depending on the matter, an engagement may involve tracing revenue flows, reconstructing incomplete accounting records, analyzing restricted fund activity, evaluating transactions with affiliated entities, identifying breakdowns in internal controls, or conducting targeted interviews.
These services are provided to nonprofit organizations, charitable foundations, religious organizations, political and social welfare entities, trusts, and other tax-exempt structures. Boards of directors and trustees engage Fiscal Highlands when financial uncertainty begins to affect governance, reputation, or organizational cohesion.
In the nonprofit environment, disputes often manifest as technical accounting disagreements, but the underlying risk extends further. Donors, regulators, beneficiaries, media, and the public operate with heightened expectations of transparency. Questions regarding revenue handling or commingling can quickly erode confidence if not addressed directly and professionally. Accordingly, confidence in financial reporting is not optional.
Whether responding to a specific allegation or proactively evaluating internal systems before a problem surfaces, our goal is to provide clear, actionable insight, reduce risk, and restore confidence in financial reporting and organizational governance.
Forensic Accounting in Trust Contexts
Forensic accounting in a trust context involves more than preparing or reviewing a routine fiduciary accounting. It requires a detailed, investigative analysis of financial activity to identify errors, inconsistencies, misallocations, or potential breaches of fiduciary duty.
When questions arise regarding trustee conduct, disputed distributions, commingling of assets, improper principal and income allocations, or unexplained variances in reported balances, a forensic review can provide clarity grounded in documentation and accounting standards.
When questions arise regarding trustee conduct, disputed distributions, allocations, or unexplained variances, a forensic review can provide clarity grounded in documentation and accounting standards.
Engagements may include:
Tracing transactions across accounts and institutions
Reconstructing historical accounting records
Evaluating compliance with the governing trust instrument and applicable law
Creating supporting documentation and transaction justification
Preparing findings for trustees, beneficiaries, or legal counsel
Fiscal Highlands’s forensic trust accounting services provide defensible, neutral analysis that protects trustees, beneficiaries, and fiduciary responsibilities while clarifying complex financial activity.
Clarity Amid Uncertainty
Serving as a trustee can feel overwhelming; legal obligations, beneficiary expectations, and fiduciary accounting rules all converge at once. Even well-intentioned family trustees can find themselves uncertain about proper allocations, recordkeeping, or reporting.
Whether you are navigating a challenging transition, managing incomplete records, or simply trying to get ahead of potential disputes, Fiscal Highlands provides the support, legal insight, and accounting expertise needed to administer trusts with confidence. With guidance grounded in both law and accounting, trustees can act decisively, reduce risk, and ensure transparency for all beneficiaries.
Ensuring the Path Forward is Clear
Even technical accounting questions can have far-reaching consequences for nonprofit credibility or trust administration. Donors, regulators, beneficiaries, and the public operate with heightened expectations of transparency. Questions left unresolved can quickly erode confidence in leadership or governance.
Fiscal Highlands ensures investigative and forensic accounting work is structured, technically sound, and legally informed, helping organizations and fiduciaries resolve uncertainties, protect assets, and restore confidence across stakeholders.
┃YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER┃
Founded by Ben Palkowski, Attorney and CPA, Fiscal Highlands sits at the intersection of accounting, legal compliance, and asset protection. With more than twenty years of experience, Ben helps nonprofit boards, trustees, and leadership teams navigate complex financial situations with clarity and confidence.
“Whether resolving questions about restricted funds, reconstructing accounting records, or clarifying fiduciary duties, my goal is to provide structured insight that allows leadership to act with confidence and transparency.”
– Ben Palkowski, Attorney, CPA
FISCAL HIGHLANDS APPROACH
Fiscal Highlands takes a neutral and investigative approach to forensic accounting for nonprofits and trusts. From analyzing complex financial records to reconstructing incomplete or inconsistent data, the goal is to provide clarity, preserve organizational credibility, and resolve questions with confidence. Fiscal Highlands works closely with leadership, boards, and legal counsel to ensure findings are accurate, defensible, and actionable.
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The first step is to have an initial consultation to discuss your situation, identify issues and establish Fiscal Highlands’s potential role.
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Some engagements contemplate fully independent investigations. In others, Fiscal Highlands augments internal resources or those of outside attorneys and accountants.
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The discovery phase includes document and data collection; interviews; and accounting transaction reviews. The scope of the engagement will typically define the scope of discovery.
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After conducting an analysis and conducting any additional discovery or fact-finding, a final report is issued. Final reports are designed to answer a pointed question, make recommendations, or provide a second opinon, depending on the engagement
COMMON QUESTIONS
Understanding that every client’s needs vary and questions often arise even after reviewing our services, below are some common inquiries. Direct conversations to explore your specific situation are also welcome. If you have additional questions or would like guidance tailored to your needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a confidential consultation.
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A nonprofit should engage a forensic accountant when there are credible signs or reasonable suspicion of financial irregularities or the introduction or discovery of a regulatory or compliance risk.
All engagements are handled discreetly and confidentially.
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Internal controls are the checks and balances a nonprofit has to prevent and detect fraud and mistakes. They are a combination of policies, procedures and systems a designed to protect its assets, ensure accurate financial regulatory reporting, ensure proper stewardship of donated funds, comply with the law, and operate effectively.
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Forensic accounting is not just about finding wrongdoing. It is part of an overall risk management and compliance strategy. Forensic accounting investigations can help to prevent and detect a number of circumstances that can result in a revocation of tax-exempt status, including benefit of organization’s funds by executives and board members, misuse of restricted funds, and poor recordkeeping.
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Investigations into a nonprofit’s revenue may focus on verifying that funds received match bank deposits and donor records; ensuring that donations earmarked for a particular purpose are in fact spent accordingly; and detecting conflicts of interest where funds might be diverted to related parties, affiliated organizations or insiders.
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Forensic accounting helps mediate and settle board disputes at nonprofits by providing an independent, evidence-based analysis of financial records, clarifying where discrepancies, mismanagement, or policy violations may have occurred, giving all parties an objective basis for discussion, informed decision-making, and resolution without escalating conflicts to litigation.
