Ex-UN forensics chief is hired by Deloitte.

Forensics isn't just the focus of TV hits like CSI; it also applies to accounting. Its importance to major firms was underscored recently when Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP hired a man who led high-level international inquiries into the infamous United Nations Oil-for-Food Program and the assets of Holocaust survivors held in Swiss banks.

Frank E. Hydoski is internationally recognized for his work in complex investigations, especially those requiring information technology to facilitate forensic analysis, according to Deloitte. Hydoski, who is joining Deloitte as a director in its New York office, has extensive experience in designing and developing analytical databases and "will assist Deloitte FAS with the development of new products and approaches in the forensic accounting and investigations areas," the firm said in an announcement.

"My aim is to help the practice increase its strategic use of technology. We plan to heighten our effectiveness in forensic accounting assignments, particularly those involving fraud reconstruction, detection and prevention," Hydoski says. "For some years now, the main dynamic in forensic services has been the connection between the substance of what forensic accountants do and their increasing use of sophisticated technology. We intend to further leverage that technology to make it a bridge to new forensic accounting services."

As chief forensic investigator examining the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program, Hydoski was responsible for forensic accounting tasks, as well as the development of analytical databases designed to combine all available information about contracts and transactions underlying the program. These databases documented the billions of dollars of misused program funds. He was also responsible for electronic discovery and for the selection and organization of the vast numbers of documents relevant to the investigation, estimated at 13 million pages.

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Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Board chairman who led the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Program, gave Hydoski a strong endorsement. "I worked closely with Frank for several years on very difficult investigations that had to break new ground," Volcker said. "He is a first-class professional in a difficult area. Fair, dogged and accurate."

Hydoski also performed investigatory work for the Government of Kuwait, which hired his team to assist it in preparing claims for compensation from the Iraqi government following Iraq's invasion in 1990. This engagement entailed working with 50 government ministries to determine and quantify the public-sector losses resulting from the invasion and occupation, and to prepare formal claims.

Earlier in his career, Hydoski was the founding partner of the forensic technology solutions practice at another Big Four accounting firm, where he is credited with establishing the first "client-facing" technology practice in the context of disputes, investigations and reorganizations.