Pensions & Investments – July 25, 2005

In a Letter to the Editor, Samuel Halpern, Executive Vice President of Independent Fiduciary Services, discusses the differences between an Operational Review (or as the industry often calls them, "investment fiduciary audits" or "performance management audits") and a "forensic audit." The Operational Review typically is geared to producing forward-looking, concrete recommendations designed to enhance the pension fund's policies, procedures and practices. By contrast, a "forensic audit" is more oriented toward civil or even criminal legal proceedings.