Accountant and Auditor Whistleblower Representation

The attorneys at leading whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law routinely represent accountants and auditors in whistleblower retaliation and SEC whistleblower rewards claims.  Zuckerman Law has secured SEC whistleblower awards for auditors and accountants and has also obtained relief for auditors and accountants in Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower retaliation matters.

One of the attorneys at the firm is a licensed CPA and CFE who worked at a big four audit firm and knows first-hand the difficult challenges that auditors face in reporting fraud.   Zuckerman Law counsels accountants and auditors concerning the complex legal issues that arise in internal and external audits and in connection with the preparation of financial statements, including:

• Financial statement fraud
  • Improper revenue recognition
  • Concealed liabilities and expenses
  • Improper disclosures
  • Fraudulent management estimates
  • Misleading non-GAAP reporting
• Inadequate SOX-required internal controls and fraud detection failure
  • Noncompliance with Section 404 of SOX
  • Management override of internal controls
  • Ineffective fraud risk management control policies
• SEC Reporting violations
  • Knowingly issuing financial statements that contain material misstatements or lack required disclosures
  • Inappropriately reporting internal controls as effective
  • Issuing misleading press releases
• Fraudulent “tone at the top”
  • Retaliating against employees for raising concerns about wrongdoing
  • Pressure to engage in earnings management or other fraudulent activity
• Independence violations and other conflicts of interest
  • External auditor independence violations, including Section 206 of SOX requiring a one-year cooling off period before members of the audit team can begin working for the client in a key financial oversight role
  • Audit Committee independence violations
  • Fraudulent related party transactions

Recently the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners published a profile of Matt Stock’s success working with whistleblowers to fight fraud:

See our column in Forbes:  One Billion Reasons Why The SEC Whistleblower-Reward Program Is Effective

See our column in Going Concern:  Sarbanes-Oxley 15 Years Later: Accountants Need to Speak Up Now More Than Ever

Our attorney’s experience includes:

• Representing partners and directors at big four audit firms in whistleblower matters;
• Representing internal auditors under federal and state whistleblower protection laws;
• Representing a senior audit official at a large public company before the SEC;
• Representing accountants and auditors in internal investigations and SEC investigations;
• Investigating and filing whistleblower reward disclosures before the SEC, CFTC, DOJ and IRS.

To schedule a free preliminary consultation, click here or call us at 202-262-8959.

SOX Whistleblower Attorneys

We have assembled a team of leading whistleblower lawyers to provide top-notch representation to whistleblowers.  Let us put our unique experience and credentials to work for you:

• • Matt Stock is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner and former KPMG external auditor.  As an auditor, Stock developed expertise in financial statement analysis and internal controls testing and fraud recognition.  He uses his auditing experience to help IRS, CFTC and SEC whistleblowers investigate and disclose complex financial frauds to the government and develop a roadmap for the SEC to take an enforcement action.  Matt has been interviewed on CNBC, quoted extensively about whistleblower rewards in the media, and is the lead author of SEC Whistleblower Program: Tips from SEC Whistleblower Attorneys to Maximize an SEC Whistleblower Award.
  • Described by the National Law Journal as a “leading whistleblower attorney,” founding Principal Jason Zuckerman has established precedent under a wide range of whistleblower protection laws and obtained substantial compensation for his clients and recoveries for the government in whistleblower rewards and whistleblower retaliation cases.  He served on the Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the Secretary of Labor to improve OSHA’s administration of federal whistleblower protection laws.  Zuckerman also served as Senior Legal Advisor to the Special Counsel at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the federal agency charged with protecting whistleblowers in the federal government.  At OSC, he oversaw investigations of whistleblower claims and obtained corrective action or relief for whistleblowers.
  • Zuckerman was recognized by Washingtonian magazine as a “Top Whistleblower Lawyer” (2020, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2009, and 2007), selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America® in the category of employment law (2011-2021) and in SuperLawyers in the category of labor and employment law (2012 and 2015-2021), is rated 10 out of 10 by Avvo, based largely on client reviews, and is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell based on peer reviews
  • We have published extensively on whistleblower rights and protections, and speak nationwide at seminars and continuing legal education conferences.  We blog about new developments under whistleblower retaliation and rewards laws at the Whistleblower Protection Law and SEC Awards Blog, and in 2019, the National Law Review awarded Zuckerman its “Go-To Thought Leadership Award” for his analysis of developments in whistleblower law.
  • Our attorneys have been quoted by and published articles in leading business, accounting, and legal periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNBC, MarketWatch, Vox, Accounting Today, Going Concern, Law360 – Expert Analysis, Investopedia, The National Law Review, inSecurities, Government Accountability Project, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Risk & Compliance Magazine, The D&O Diary, The Compliance and Ethics Blog, Compliance Week and other printed and electronic media.