Wildfire Forensics Accounting

Written by Fire Origin Expert Witness

Expert Witness No.285
 

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Wildfire Forensics Accounting is a specialized practice requiring knowledge and experience in
wildfire suppression, combined with experience in the administrative infrastructure of the
involved agencies. While Wildfire Forensics Accounting is similar to Forensics Accounting in
that common accounting practices are used, the use of common Forensics Accounting will
not provide productive results. Each wildfire agency operates under a unique set of rules
and procedures that are generally revised on a regular basis and all purchase and
procurement documents must be evaluated against those specific rules and procedures.

In this particular case, the landowner received a letter of demand from a governmental fire
agency totaling $14 million for suppression costs related to a negligent fire. To understand
how the $14 million was spent, the daily operational documents that described personnel
and resource assignments and activities were reviewed. Reviewing the daily operational
documents assists in determining if expenditures were commensurate with fire suppression
activities. In addition, this review identified specific notations and tracking information that
would be useful during the review of accounting documents. Read More...