Harley Thomas joined MKS in summer 2022, becoming a forensic accountant and senior investigator.
As part of our ‘Meet the Team’ series, we asked him to share his thoughts about working at MKS.
• Hi Harley, tell us a little about yourself?
I hail from the north-west of England, from a town called Blackpool. It’s famous for its Tower, Blackpool rock, the Illuminations, its donkey rides down the promenade … but more importantly, the famous tangerine shirt of its football team!
In terms of work, I’m a forensic accountant, with a background in audit and financial accounting. I hold both a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, and a master’s degree in financial investigation.
• What do you do at MKS?
Our expertise is on fraud and asset recovery. However, that role really provides an extremely varied day-to-day line of work. We help support our litigation team, reviewing huge amounts of data and documentation, often in a bid to identify, locate, freeze and liquidate assets and then return them (or their value) to those from whom they were stolen.
Perhaps I am biased, but forensics work is the “sexy” line of accounting. It’s not just numbers: it’s detective work that can have a real-world impact for those who have been defrauded.
• How did you first come to work for us and to hear about us?
I did my master’s degree at UCLan (the University of Central Lancashire, in north-west England) in Financial Investigation. I studied at what was known as the School of Justice [now the School of Law and Policing] at UCLan.
It is a highly regarded school in the UK for this discipline: its policing courses are among the best in the country. Martin Kenney is currently a visiting Professor at the school, and we also sponsor the Martin Kenney Award (for Outstanding Contribution to the Study of Financial Investigation) each year.
Tony McClements, the head of our Investigations Unit, was a lecturer on my discovery and recovery of assets module. He alerted me to MKS and the work it was undertaking on some really major cases. I was then lucky enough to be offered a job out here: it was an opportunity to work on some of the largest, most complex and intriguing asset recovery matters.
• Can accountancy be (dare we say it) … exciting?
Absolutely. Although audit, which is my background, can be deemed mundane and boring, it helps to give a strong understanding of the mechanics of how large corporations are structured and operate. Perhaps I am biased, but forensics work is the “sexy” line of accounting. It’s not just numbers: it’s detective work that can have a real-world impact for those who have been defrauded.
• Could you tell us a little about the day-to-day work of yourself and the MKS Investigation Unit?
We get involved in a range of different matters. These include investigating large-scale Ponzi schemes to high-value divorce proceedings, as well as digital asset investigations, and arbitration enforcement proceedings. Our day-to-day work is ever-changing.
• What are some of the challenges you typically face?
Given the multi-jurisdictional, cross-border nature of our work, one of the key difficulties we face is assembling and devising a strategy that we can use to “drop the hammer” on fraudsters. Critically for MKS, our connection to ICC FraudNet provides us with partners in many of the world’s leading jurisdictions, making it much easier to assemble a global asset recovery strategy.
In our line of work, the investigation phase should never really end.
• How long does the investigative phase of a case last (does it ever “end”)?
Each case has its own particulars. The initial phase – phase I – requires us to review and investigate all materials relevant to a case. This initial phase helps us to form the strategy for all future stages of the case and to determine the prospects of success. Given the expensive nature of our work, we might deem that a case is not worth “throwing good money after bad”.
In our line of work, the investigation phase should never really end. It’s important for any litigation that our findings are maintained and kept up to date; failing to do so can cause a case to fail at a very simple hurdle, and for a plethora of reasons.
• Is the role of an investigator getting easier with the advent of new technologies and tools?
It is a double-edged sword. With advancements in technology our capabilities to detect, uncover or even prevent fraud, increase. So too do the capabilities of the fraudsters.
On the larger cases on which we we work, artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly having a significant impact, helping us review tens of thousands of pages of documents. In addition, we have access to multiple first-class AI-based, deep web data-scraping tools, which can be critical to understanding the fraudsters. Much of this information gathering would not be possible without the advancement of technologies.
• I understand you’re training to be a lawyer – why?
I think it’s important that I continually try to further my education and experience. I’ve always strived to improve where I can. Having worked alongside the lawyers at MKS, I decided I wanted to train and qualify as one as well. I will be dual-qualified both as a lawyer and an accountant: I believe this will give me a great skillset in the fraud and asset recovery world. With that comes added pressure, of course: I will no longer be able to use the phrase “I am not a lawyer”.
Our clients have sometimes lost almost everything. This can have a huge impact on them, both psychologically and physically.
• What do you most enjoy about your work?
I enjoy trying to put matters right for those who have been wronged. Our clients have sometimes lost almost everything. This can have a huge impact on them, both psychologically and physically. It is extremely rewarding to assist them and to bring justice against the wrongdoers.
• And what’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your time at MKS?
Approaching financial investigations with precision and analytical focus, and taking a holistic view of a matter. Working on complex, multijurisdictional cases has taught me how to undertake a careful examination of financial data. Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams has offered invaluable experience, too, and a better understanding of how various different legal systems operate in relation to fraud and asset recovery
• In terms of the challenges ahead of us, what do those of us in this profession need to worry about – AI? Crypto? Or something else?
Cryptocurrency, or other digital assets, will be central to a high proportion of fraud and asset recovery matters in the future. With the emergence of central bank digital currencies, the profession will need to continually evolve to be able to deal with the complex issues which arise from this area.
• On a more personal level, what’s it like living and working in a place such as the BVI?
It has been great to live and work in the BVI, immersing myself in a new culture and meeting great people. What makes the BVI is the people. It’s been extremely illuminating to work in the offshore world, too. Despite my studies, there are elements which I would just not have known without having moved to an offshore jurisdiction like this.
• Is it somewhere that’s “easy” to live?
It is hard to say that the BVI isn’t an “easy” place to live. You travel home from work on the long, winding, hilly roads of Tortola as the sun sets in the evening, or spend your Sundays on one of the endless white sand beaches, with their crystal-clear waters. However, like any smaller jurisdiction, it does face its own difficulties in infrastructure – and the weather can certainly be “interesting” (which is saying something as a lad from the north-west of England!).
I draw inspiration from my close family, especially my parents, who motivate me every day to do the right thing.
• When times are tough, who do you draw upon for inspiration?
I draw inspiration from my close family, especially my parents, who motivate me every day to do the right thing.
My key piece of advice in life is that I think any success is 100% dependent on your mentality. “Your mentality is the most important thing in life. If you think you can, you will. If you think you can’t, you won’t.” It is the only thing you can control or have the ability to change in real time.
• What’s one piece of wisdom you might leave for anyone following in your footsteps?
To work as hard as you can and never give in. It’s important that you continually attempt to move forward and improve, and never stand still. That’s when you get complacent. Knowledge is ever-evolving. Setbacks will happen, but that is how you continue to learn.
• Thanks Harley – it was great speaking with you!