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RISK MANAGEMENT AND LOSS MITIGATION
The team consists of former big-five audit partners, experienced litigators, and risk management experts who assist:
- clients in identifying, assessing and solving a wide range of potential process and control system problems before they lead to significant liability and litigation, and
- designing risk reduction and loss mitigation programs to minimize exposure.
WHAT DOES HUNTER STEVENS PROVIDE?
Hunter Stevens offers expert capabilities which address several key issues by:
- Enhancing accountability among audit committees, independent auditors and management;
- Identifying a wide range of litigation exposure and liability issues including the quality and sustainability of reported revenue and earnings, D&O, E&O, and employment practices, unusual exposures related to mergers and acquisitions, and large contingent liabilities;
- Designing effective loss mitigation programs.
- Assessing potential litigation costs and insurance coverage issues;
- Evaluating legal problems before costs escalate with a focus on direct business impact and the bottom line; and
- Making sure your outside counsel is working efficiently and cost-effectively and billing you only for work that you need.
Why on Earth do we need another independent group to identify and solve these issues?
Traditional audit or legal teams typically don't assess potential exposure areas before litigation commences. The most effective way to reduce liability and costs is to identify potential areas of exposure before litigation occurs since:
- It is becoming increasingly evident that securities and other forms of commercial litigation are on the rise and becoming increasingly more costly;
- Even with clean audit opinions, accounting errors and irregularities are slipping through the cracks;
- Given the complexity of SEC regulations and financial reporting standards - more management teams and board members are less GAAP savvy than ever before; and
- The motivation to meet Wall Street expectations is continuing to override common sense business practices.
HOW IS HUNTER STEVENS DIFFERENT?
Hunter Stevens consists of former big-five audit partners, experienced litigators, and risk management professionals who have worked in the securities and commercial litigation area for years. They know the warning signs and fact patterns that plaintiffs' counsel look for, including:
- Aggressive accounting practices;
- Stock price drops;
- Unusual sales at the end of the quarter;
- Selling by officers and directors;
- Absence of risk factor disclosure;
- Projections / forward-looking statements;
- "Puffing" adjectives;
...and help you devise sound strategies and practices to help minimize potential exposure:
- Conservative accounting;
- Control officer and director selling;
- Identify control weaknesses and develop effective preventive techniques before they ignite the litigation process;
- Control costs for ongoing litigation; and
- Arrive at a knowledgeable/objective strategy to improve corporate governance / fulfill stakeholder responsibilities and comply with regulatory requirements.
HOW CAN HUNTER STEVENS HELP KEEP LITIGATION COSTS DOWN?
Traditional legal teams don't keep the lid on professional fees once litigation begins.
- Legal budgets need to be carefully created, frequently reviewed and most importantly, not ignored!
- We quickly identify which members of our team have the expertise to efficiently and cost effectively provide you with practical solutions.
- Hunter Stevens can suggest efficient alternative billing arrangements for certain matters so the legal meter isn't allowed to run out of control.
- Work with your outside counsel to avoid overstaffing and overlawyering so you won't have to pay two, three or four people to do something that one lawyer can do.
- We can work with you to have your outside counsel provide a meaningful and responsive schedule for assessing what has been done on a case, what still needs to be done, who will do it, and how much it will cost.
- Help you take advantage of cost sharing opportunities with other parties so you don't help finance someone else's litigation.
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