Tod McDonald, Co-Founder; Chris Mccall, CEO and Founder The tale commenced when Tod McDonald, co-founder of Valid8 Financial, a certified public accountant (CPA) and certified insolvency and restructuring advisor (CIRA), found himself entangled in a bankruptcy case of monumental proportions with his partner, a bankruptcy court trustee.
Catching both McDonald and his partner off guard, the case took an unprecedented trajectory that unearthed numerous falsified assets, becoming the largest Ponzi scheme in the Northwest US. Following this revelation, the FBI, the Department of Justice (DoJ), McDonald, and his partner were faced with the daunting task of sifting through tens of thousands of bank statements. Their task involved the manual and painstaking extraction of pertinent details, such as transaction history, dates, descriptions, and amounts, to comprehend the fund transfers and discern the integrity of each financial transaction. This situation underscored the pressing need for a technological solution to expedite similar investigations. It was here that the seeds of Valid8 were sown.
Armed with the knowledge that arduous manual processes dominated the financial investigation landscape, the visionary minds behind Valid8 meticulously developed a Verified Financial Intelligence (VFI) software platform. The platform empowered financial professionals such as restructuring experts, forensic accountants, state and federal agencies, and bankruptcy trustees to efficiently unravel the enigma of financial transactions.
Using Valid8's platform, investigators can upload and process a range of financial evidence, including bank statements, checks, deposit slips, and brokerage statements. Through advanced algorithms and analysis, the platform identifies discrepancies, showcases the flow of funds through visual representations, and uncovers hidden transfers between accounts. What once consumed excessive time through archaic manual processes is now accomplished with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
“Valid8's platform identifies missing, incorrect, and duplicate information, visually showing investigators where the money came and went, streamlining follow-the-money investigations and significantly reducing manual processes,” says McDonald.
The firm’s VFI platform is a game-changer as it conducts high-value financial audits and investigations that span across diverse fields, such as financial statement audits, high net-worth divorce cases, mergers and acquisitions, fraud investigations, and government agency inquiries.
One of VFI’s standout features is its client accounting extraction capability. It automates and streamlines the process of extracting data from over 30 types of accounting systems, standardizing the data into a common format. Its patented matching algorithms compare banking activity to accounting entries, achieving full population verification. This enables professionals to execute proof of cash, subsequent accounts receivable (AR), and revenue verification with greater efficiency and accuracy, resulting in time savings and reduced risks typically associated with sampling techniques.
The platform also offers a process-driven user experience. It presents a self-guiding process map with live progress bars, which facilitates seamless navigation to any view or task with a single click. This unified experience streamlines the evidence-collection process, accelerating data preparation. In addition, by reducing training time and standardizing procedures, Valid8 empowers professionals to dedicate their efforts to higher-value activities.
Valid8's platform identifies missing, incorrect, and duplicate information, visually showing investigators where the money came and went, streamlining follow-the-money investigations and significantly reducing manual processes
Over the years, Valid8 Financial, a company forged in the crucible of necessity and driven by a relentless pursuit of justice, has assisted thousands of CPAs, attorneys, and financial professionals in following money trails for a range of objectives. This has made its solution synonymous with expedited investigations, enabling financial professionals to answer pivotal questions, such as “Where did the money come from?”, “Where did it go?” and “How did it get there?” In an industry reliant on comprehensive analysis and absolute integrity, the firm’s solutions are the pinnacle of efficiency.
