Kip Hamilton, CPA, CFE
Position:
Phone:
Email:
khamilton@brileyfin.comLocation:
Expert Areas
- Economic Damage Assessments on behalf of Plaintiffs and Defendants
- Construction Disputes and Cost Audits
- Contractor Investigations on Behalf of Sureties
- Real Estate Accounting and Litigation
- Fraud Investigations – Civil and Criminal
- Purchase Price Disputes
- Internal Investigations
- Due Diligence Reviews
- Solo Arbitrator and Panel Member
Expertise
- 40 years of experience assisting counsel and clients in the resolution of complex financial disputes.
- Served as an expert on dozens of occasions in federal and state courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, arbitration proceedings and State Board of Claims.
- Serves as a Neutral on the American Arbitration Association Panel of Construction Arbitrators.
Biography
Kip Hamilton is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania. He has 40 years of experience assisting counsel and clients in the resolution of complex financial disputes. Kip has served as an auditor, expert witness, consultant and arbitrator in matters relating to economic damages, fraud investigations, due diligence, internal investigations and forensic accounting. Mr. Hamilton has particular experience in the real estate and construction industries where he has assisted owners, contractors, subcontractors, developers, lenders, sureties and governmental agencies resolve disputes. Kip has developed strategies, performed cost audits and evaluated damages arising from project delay and disruption, financing issues, bankruptcy, accidents, fraud and troubled projects. In the general commercial disputes arena, Mr. Hamilton also has experience investigating liability issues and evaluating damages for both plaintiffs and defendants in numerous industries including private education, manufacturing, consumer products, lodging, banking, advertising, legal, accounting, insurance, farming, leisure, retail, wholesale, transportation, casino, broker/dealer and entertainment industries.
Work History
B. Riley Advisory
Senior Managing Director
Hamilton Forensics, LLC
Owner
Kroll, Inc.
Principal
Curtis Consulting
Director
Laventhol & Horwath, CPAs
Manager
Credentials
- BBA, Accounting – Temple University
- Licensed CPA – Arizona
- Licensed CPA – Pennsylvania
- Arbitrator – American Arbitration Association
Professional Affiliations
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
- Arizona Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
- American Arbitration Association Panel of Construction Arbitrators
- Retained by a Regional Pool Alliance to defend $25 million in claims by two contractors that provided remediation and construction work relating to damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. Analysis focused on invoices submitted for alleged incomplete and defective work, work not in original scope, secondary work to repair contractors own damaged work, mischaracterization of work performed and work never performed
- Assisting a manufacturer of wind turbines develop a claim for extra costs and evaluate a claim by the project developer for out of scope costs and liquidated damages on a wind farm in the US.
- Retained as an expert to assist a transportation authority audit change orders and defend several claims totaling in excess of $150 million arising from a $700 million multiple prime project to replace an elevated rail line and construct new stations.
- Assisted a lender defend a claim by a developer that it interfered with the developer’s project consisting of 73 townhouses and 96 condominiums resulting in lost profits and bankruptcy. Performed a detailed audit of costs expended to determine diversion of funds to other projects and provided testimony in bankruptcy court regarding cost issues.
- Retained as an expert in an age discrimination case involving a claim that a key employee was entitled to a percentage of profits in five retirement community projects with over 1,000 planned homes. Prepared cash flow and profit analyses for the uncompleted projects accounting for restructured debt costs, a new equity partner, declining sales and other factors that changed from the initial projects.
- Investigated allegations of bid rigging on behalf of the DOJ concerning a company that provided naval repair services for the US Navy.
- Retained as a consultant and later as an expert witness related to the construction of a large apartment complex in Arizona and claims by the general contractor.
- Retained as an expert to calculate the damages incurred by an owner after the contractor failed to perform on two large naval conversion projects in South America. Expert testimony was provided in New York federal court. The owner recovered over $250 million from two U.S. sureties.
- Assisted an East Coast developer resolve a dispute with partners that costs among various construction projects were improperly allocated. Audited selected costs from over a dozen projects. Analysis assisted parties to settle matter out of court.
- Assisted an out of state private lender determine how funds were used on a 500+ acre mixed use development in North Dakota after the development stalled due to the drop in shale oil drilling and oil prices. Investigated self-dealing allegations, inflated commissions, related party payments, suspect vendor payments, extravagant expenses and undercapitalization of the project.
- Retained by various sureties to perform investigations of troubled contractors. The projects included schools, street and sewer projects, pump stations, office buildings and sewage treatment projects, among others. The investigations required analyses of project costs and projected costs to complete, financial status of the contractor, cash flow issues and identification of potential fraud and cost recoveries for the surety.