If you’re considering buying a company, fraud may be the last thing on your mind. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to ignore the possibility that your acquisition target is hiding something — possibly something that will have negative financial and legal implications after the deal is complete. To ensure the transaction is what it appears to be, acquaint yourself with the issues and include a forensic accounting expert on your deal team. Look at the numbers During the due diligence process of a merger or acquisition, forensic experts review financial statements for subtle warning signs of fraud. These include excess inventory, a large number of write-offs, an unusually high number of voided discounts for returns, insufficient documentation of sales and increased purchases from new vendors. Another suspicious sign...