The Tribune

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Bahamas teamed with the Attorney General's Office on an initiative to boost the forensic and technical capabilities of local regulators.

The accounting firm brought in several leading executives from its regional and global advisory units to facilitate the first-ever, two-day Bahamas forensics training workshop.

The workshop was facilitated by Tim Abrahams, a PwC US partner, forensic services; Kevin Cambridge, PwC Bahamas director of advisory; Tania Fabiani, PwC global fraud risk and integrity leader; and Glen Ware, principal, PwC global intelligence leader; Jude Vanover, PwC US director of forensics; Sumana Lahiry, PwC US forensics manager; Nikolaos Doukellis, PwC US international anti-corruption and compliance; and Burnadene Falconer, PwC Bahamas senior associate, Advisory.

Kevin Cambridge said: "Our goal was to assemble our knowledgeable and experienced PwC team from the network to expose the participants to the global developments in forensics.

"We tapped into our network to present relevant topics, and to share insights about the latest strategies in forensics, digital technology, investigative techniques, data analytics and preservation, anti-money laundering and countering-terrorism financing; all timely topics that would benefit the Government bodies."

Jessica Shannon, PwC's international development and forensics leader for the Caribbean, added: "We are thrilled to see the high-impact work that has been done by our Bahamas advisory team in support of our clients and the community.

"We are committed to collaborating with the public sector to deepen our public/private ties in establishing more initiatives, and providing more training to allow them to develop themselves in the forensic space."

Mr Abrahams, the PwC US partner for forensic services, added: "As the business world is rapidly becoming more complex, data saturated and globalised, risks related to fraud and corruption are all growing.

"Our team was committed to giving every attendee a platform to communicate their concerns, ideas and viewpoints on fighting crime. We are invested in continuing to bring greater awareness to these issues, and equipping our clients with the tools and knowledge needed to mitigate the evolving risks within the global arena".

Regulators representing the different government agencies included the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Bahamas Customs, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Registrar General's Department, Auditor General, Insurance Commission, Securities Commission, Compliance Commission, the Central Bank of The Bahamas, the Ministry of Finance and the Gaming Board.

"These local government bodies represent a cross-section of experienced regulators who trust us to share our knowledge to enhance their training capabilities. The success of the workshop was a result of an ongoing relationship with the Attorney General's Office. Thanks to their support, we were able to share tools, techniques and best practices in the forensics field, and provide real life examples to solving complex problems they face daily," said Mr Cambridge.

The interactive forum also allowed the PwC team to hear the concerns of regulators; many of whom spoke of their experiences and what they hoped to gain from the workshop.