KordaMentha


Contact Details:	+61 3 8623 3410 ostone@kordamentha.com
Experience:	Owain has over 20 years experience in a wide range of forensic accounting projects. He was previously the Oceania Head of Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services for Ernst & Young, managing a team of over 50 across Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Prior to that Owain worked for Andersen in Melbourne (1997-2002), Singapore (1990- 1997) and London (1984-1990). His recent experience includes expert witness related forensic accounting services (including preparation of expert reports and / or giving oral testimony in the Australian Federal Court, the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Supreme Court and High Court of Singapore, the Supreme Court of Vanuatu and arbitrations in Australia and the USA.
Significant Appointments:	Expert Witness – Quantification of Economic Loss Owain has provided numerous expert witness and consulting expert reports in respect of the quantification of economic loss and damage, including the valuation of a number of business, in matters such as breach of contract, Trade Practices Act etc, including: An expert witness statement in the quantification of loss of profits caused by a wrongful termination of a building services contract. Investigation, analysis of documents required and development of possible counter claim arguments for a major mechanical engineering and construction dispute in Malaysia. Assessment of quantification, causation and liability issues relating to major professional negligence claim against a major audit firm arising from the collapse of an airline in connection with certain fraudulent transactions. Rebuttal of a series of claims for loss of profit and other damages arising from Trade Practice Act disputes. Analysis of damage issues in connection with a franchise dispute. Expert Witness – Intellection Property Matters Owain has undertaken economic loss and account of profit analysis for a range of intellectual property related claims, including: Assisting a defendant pharmaceutical company to quantify its account of profits from a breach of intellectual property. This role involved the preparation of an expert report quantifying the account and addressing complex issues such as allocation of product development and overhead costs. This matter settled after the provision of the account of profit report. Providing expert testimony in the Federal Court in the quantification of loss of profits caused by an alleged infringement of intellectual property in the construction industry. Expert Determination Owain has worked in a number of post acquisition purchase price adjustment disputes requiring the involvement of an expert determination, both as the expert and in the preparation of submissions to an expert. These have included the following: Disputes over depreciation, and accounting policy issues amounting to over A$100 million on an acquisition of a vehicle fleet and fleet management business for a consideration of over $400 million. Dispute over provisioning and changes of estimates in connection with the acquisition of a utility company. Special Referee Owain has, on a number of occasions, acted as Special Referee, appointed by the Supreme Court of Victoria, to determine accounting matters in dispute between parties, including: Analysis of the profitability of a company as a Special Referee appointed by the Supreme Court of Victoria to assess the bona fides of a number of allegedly related party transactions in connection with allegations of the oppression of a minority shareholder. Fraud Investigation Owain has been involved in, and run, a number of investigations into allegations of fraud, including the following: Investigation of misappropriation of approximately A$2.5 million by a secretary to the CEO perpetrated through corporate charge card usage. The funds were removed over a period of approximately four years and were, at least in part, to support her partner’s drug addiction. Investigation for a regulatory authority into the collapse of Barings Bank because of unauthorised derivatives trading in Singapore. This involved developing a cash flow and trading model to reconstruct apparent derivative trading patterns. Investigation into allegations of inappropriate and potentially fraudulent behaviour in connection with investments made by the Fiji National Provident Fund. Investigation into fraud by managing director relating to duplicate sales by companies related to the director and other defalcation resulting in successful criminal prosecution. Investigation into allegations of “false invoicing” by suppliers to support year end accruals and help manage earnings for an Australian financial services organisation. Investigation into allegations of kickbacks and fraud within a commodities trading house. Investigation into the potential for financial statement fraud in connection with a large “black hole” in the balance sheet of an Australian listed entity. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Owain has undertaken a number of investigations that have specifically considered corruption and FCPA issues, including: Review of Australian operations of a major consulting practice arising from allegations of FCPA breaches in respect of contracts in China. Review of agency arrangements for a major US construction group in relation to allegations of breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act. Fraud Risk Management Owain has undertaken a number of fraud risk management engagements, including: Design, prepare and deliver a fraud awareness training program for a major industrial organisation. This training program involved direct workshop training for more than 500 executives, managers and supervisors at nearly 50 sessions, many of which were directly led by Owain. The program also involved the design of video based learning for all employees. Working with a number of clients to help them to assess their fraud risk, including fraud awareness training, fraud risk assessment workshops and gap analysis.
Qualifications:	Bachelor of Science (Hons), Southampton University (1981-1984)
Memberships:	Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia: Fellow; National Chair of the Forensic Accountants Special Interest Group; and Business Valuation Special Interest Group. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales - Member Singapore Institute of Certified Public Accountants - Member Association of Certified Fraud Examiners - Member