The brief
whistle-blower complaint reached the audit committee of a listed pharma group alleging systematic mis-selling and round-tripping by a cluster of distributors in the southern and western zones. The committee instructed an independent forensic investigation.
We were instructed within 72 hours of the committee meeting. Time mattered: the group was three months from year-end, and the audit committee needed a defensible quantification of exposure before its sign-off cycle.
The approach
Five phases, partner-led, calibrated to the engagement’s scale and risk. Each phase produced a deliverable the audit committee could see, and a workpaper trail an independent reviewer could follow.
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01
Mandate & scoping
Wrote the formal scope letter with the audit committee — isolating the distributor cluster, the time window, and the specific allegations being tested.
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02
Data acquisition
Imaging of distributor SAP extracts, sales-team email mailboxes (under instruction), bank statements and the group’s own SAP order-to-cash trail.
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03
Pattern analysis
Cross-correlated invoice cycles, return rates, credit-note sequencing and scheme-payout patterns. Identified the subset of distributors with the strongest exposure indicators.
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04
Field validation
Branch and distributor-site visits in three states. Stock counts, signed acknowledgements, and direct interviews with the sales team.
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05
Report & recovery
Draft forensic report with quantified exposure, recommended terminations, and the basis for civil-recovery actions where warranted.
Engagement led personally from kick-off to opinion — single accountable point of contact for every audit-committee question across the 11 weeks.
In their voice
The committee asked for a number we could defend in court if it came to it. They gave us one — with the workpaper trail to back every line.
The outcome
The investigation closed at week 11 with a quantified exposure of ₹47cr across 47 distributors. The audit committee accepted the report; three immediate recovery actions were initiated, including civil suits in two states.
The group’s statutory audit closed on schedule with the exposure provisioned correctly. Our reporting accountant note for the year-end disclosure has been adopted as a template by the group’s internal audit function.
