Construction company at center of marital dissolution

--marital accounting revealed misstated income and undisclosed assets

 

Aho & Associates was retained by the wife of an owner of a regional construction company to conduct an accounting of marital assets as part of the couple’s divorce.  Because the wife was not actively involved in the family business, we questioned whether the husband had fully and accurately disclosed his income and assets connected to the couple’s $15M construction company and a recently acquired construction subsidiary.  The engagement presented issues typical of a marriage where one spouse asserts primary control over marital financial assets, restricts access to information, and possesses superior financial and operational acumen over a family business.

 

Using equipment purchase and utilization data, onsite surveillance, tax returns, and financial information supplied by the wife, we conducted a reverse lifestyle analysis and determined that the husband had misstated his income and revenue of his business operations and value of its assets.  We found that the husband had not disclosed the purchase terms or value of a second construction company, had failed to record cash transactions of equipment rentals, and had failed to record numerous significant barter and cash receipts.

 

We also discovered that the husband had failed to disclose income from rental properties he had parked in other business entities.  Interestingly, we also discovered indicia suggesting an unrelated embezzlement of company funds by an employee.

 

Our resulting findings and accounting were instrumental in compelling the husband to abandon his previous settlement position and accept a division of marital assets in line with the reality of the couple’s financial circumstances and substantially more favorable to the wife.

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