Neill Poole

Ankura

Hong Kong www.ankura.com

neill.poole@ankura.com Tel: +852 2233 2533

Biography

Neill Poole is a senior managing director based in Hong Kong and has worked in Asia for over 20 years. He has accumulated extensive regional experience in dispute services, forensic accounting and financial investigations. Prior to relocating to Asia from the United Kingdom, Neill trained as a chartered accountant on the audit team of a Big Four accountancy practice and, soon after qualifying in 1988, specialised in forensic accounting.

Looking back over your career, what is the most interesting case you have been a part of?

It is difficult to label a single case as the most interesting. I have been fortunate to have been involved in many cases over the course of my career that have proved interesting or challenging in various ways. They include an investigation into a collapse of a private bank in North America that turned out to be a major systematic fraud and sophisticated money laundering operation by senior management, an investigation/ receivership case in China that involved part of the team being held hostage by “employees”, several post-acquisition disputes which have involved interesting technical accounting issues as well as a number of joint venture disputes that involved allegations of malfeasance.

What did you find most challenging about entering practice as a forensic accountant?

I became involved in forensic accounting almost by accident at a time when it was little known as a specialisation and just as some of the large accounting firms (which subsequently became the “Big Four”) started to form specialists teams. As a result, one of the key challenges was having to learn quickly how to apply experience and skills in a way that was helpful and understandable to clients and their legal advisers. Inevitably, given the relative novelty of the service at the time, we also had to “educate” those who might benefit from forensic accounting services as to how our input could be of assistance.

What is it about your role as a forensic accountant and financial investigator that you enjoy most?

I would say the key thing is variety. No two cases are the same because of the fact base of a particular matter and how the fact base interacts with relevant law. In addition, we get exposure to a wide variety of clients and industries in our work, not to mention the benefit of working with a variety of legal teams from around the globe. Of course, in Asia, we also have the benefit (and challenges) of working with a variety of cultures. The importance of cultural differences cannot be understated in this line of work.

What are the key skills required for advising clients involved in regulatory issues and disputes?

To use a medical analogy – a good bedside manner. There is a huge range of sophistication in the clients we work with, from global financial institutions and corporates to first-time litigant individuals. Being able to match communication of issues and opinions with the experience and knowledge of the client is essential. It is also important to balance empathy with independence, clarity of thought and realism. In the heat of a dispute, clients may not always like or agree with your opinion, but they will usually come around to accepting it.

What are the most important trends in forensic accounting that readers should be aware of?

One of the most important trends, in my view, is the impact of conflicts of interest. It is not a new challenge to the accounting/consulting profession in the context of forensic accounting, but it is a recurring one. As consulting firms grow larger and more diverse in their service offerings, it inevitably becomes more difficult to satisfy actual and perceived independence requirements, particularly in an environment where there is already mistrust between parties in dispute. This will continue to push forensic accounting practitioners away from large audit-based accounting practices into niche consulting firms and we will continue to see new specialist start-ups or “bolt-ons” to firms that have previously not offered forensic accounting services.

How does Ankura distinguish itself from the competition in the region?

One of Ankura’s key strengths is its collaborative culture. Many firms say they have a collaborative culture, but few do in reality. This allows us to draw on the strong expertise and resources of the firm globally far more easily and speedily than most of our competitors. Coupled with the fact that we rarely have conflict of interest issues, Ankura is typically able to respond more quickly with the right solution for the client and its legal advisers.

What is needed from practitioners in order for them to flourish as experts under a variety of arbitration institutions and national court systems?

In my view, so far as damages experts are concerned, the differences between arbitration institutions and national court systems (particularly those with common law systems) are far less relevant than they are to, say, lawyers. In any forum, the expert needs to be able to think and communicate incisively so that the client, legal advisers and, ultimately, the tribunal can quickly grasp and evaluate the relevance of an expert’s opinion to the case.

What can younger practitioners do to increase their chances of being appointed as experts in international arbitrations? Is there a role for experienced experts here?

There is definitely an ongoing role for experienced experts in international arbitrations. In addition to honing their technical skills, I would advise younger practitioners to broaden their experience as much as possible and not to restrict themselves purely to forensic accounting. Depending on the context and issues in dispute, an expert’s ability to draw on experiences from involvement in other types of work (such as insolvency cases, M&A advisory, financial due diligence) can be very helpful when analysing a case and forming an opinion. Never stop learning! I would also recommend that younger practitioners develop their network of law firm contacts in their peer group at an early stage. This will not only get them known to decision makers of the future but will often give them insights as to the practical issues with experts being faced by lawyers.

Peers and clients say: “Neill has deep industry expertise and experience giving expert evidence” “He is extremely responsive and provides in-depth analysis” “A very strong and constructive forensic expert”