Media Release: Clayton Utz recruits leading Big 4 forensic accountant to national FTS practice

Brisbane, 8 November 2021: Forensic accountant TJ (Theunis) Koekemoer has joined our national Forensic and Technology Services (FTS) team, based in Brisbane.

TJ has more than 20 years' international experience at Big 4 accounting firms, specialising in advice to both private and public sector clients, including government at all levels, in relation to forensic accounting, fraud, corruption and misconduct investigations, forensic data analytics, and fraud, corruption and compliance program development and assessment.

He joins from Deloitte, where he was Principal - Forensic Services.

TJ said he was attracted to the opportunity to work in a law firm environment and provide a truly holistic approach to client matters that required forensic accounting and analysis as part of the solution.

Our clients are operating in a heightened regulatory environment in which it is not enough to be reactive from a compliance perspective; they need to be proactively identifying and mitigating fraud and corruption risks. For example, the Australian Government is continuing its efforts to enhance the regulatory environment through the proposed establishment of the Commonwealth Integrity Commission and the long-awaited Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 that, among other things, will create a new offence of failing to prevent foreign bribery occurring through their operations. That requires an understanding of where the risks are to develop a proper compliance response. 

He added: "Clients are also under increasing pressure to demonstrate their ESG credentials, including, for example, providing evidence that they are making efforts to eliminate modern slavery in their supply chains. We'll be able to present solutions to clients as part of a broad suite of legal services available to them."

Clayton Utz FTS National Practice Group Leader and partner, Paul Fontanot, said TJ's appointment highlighted the demand for advice and services in this area: "TJ's background and experience advising clients across a range of industry sectors and issues means he really understands what approach is required to deliver the right solution for the client. Having him in Brisbane - where we have a growing team - also gives us another senior on-the-ground presence alongside FTS Senior Manager Scott Murphy."