Martin W. Terpstra

CPA, CFE

Partner in Charge, Forensic and Litigation Services

Martin Terpstra is Partner in Charge of the Forensic and Litigation Services Practice.  He is a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner with over 36 years of experience as an auditor, consultant and fraud examiner covering many diverse industries.

Marty has investigated and evaluated over 500 accountants' professional liability claims and performed over 100 forensic investigations.  He has developed risk management programs for accounting firms, which he presents nationally to such firms and professional organizations. He has also developed training programs for insurance claims specialists and fraud detection and prevention programs.

Marty is a frequent speaker for professional organizations and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University where he teaches courses in accounting and auditing.

Litigation Experience

• Consulted on more than 500 accountants' professional liability claims.  These matters involved the application and interpretation of accounting principles and auditing standards.
• Served as the expert witness in trials and participated in numerous arbitrations and mediations.
• Consulted in major class action securities fraud cases.
• Directed special investigations for the boards of directors of publicly traded companies, including representation before the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Directed forensic investigations involving misstatement of financial statements and misappropriations of corporate assets.
• Directed investigation of financial improprieties at a “Fortune 100” company.  The magnitude of such financial overstatements exceeded $100 million
• Prepared expert damage analyses and rebutted opposing experts in complex matters.
• Experienced in governmental and not-for-profit accounting and auditing of federal financial assistance programs.
• Investigated claims involving construction contractors and government contractors.
• Investigated embezzlements from family offices and family trusts.
• Investigated failures of financial institutions, including loan portfolio analysis.
• Investigated failed insurance companies involving off-shore fraud and money-laundering schemes.
• Investigated fraud involving real estate entities and title companies.
• Served on internal inspection teams to monitor the quality of audit practices and external peer review teams to evaluate the audit practices of other public accounting firms.

Professional Affiliations

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Illinois CPA Society
• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
• Government Finance Officers Association
• Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Education

• DePaul University, BS, Accounting (Magna Cum Laude)
• DePaul University, MS, Accounting (With Distinction)

Articles by Marty Terpstra

• Blackman Kallick's Not-for-Profit Seminar: Fraud Detection and Prevention for Not-for-Profit Organizations