Perhaps I should introduce you to one of my restructuring partners?” was not a question that Jack Andrews, a partner in the major accountancy firm Nickel Turner LLP anticipated he’d have to ask longstanding client, Alex Murati.
All Too Familiar opens with a conversation between Alex Murati, the owner of an ailing restaurant chain, Trivena, and Jack Andrews, his long-term adviser and partner in Nickel Turner LLP.
Jack had offered to introduce Alex to one of the firm’s restructuring partners, but Alex tells Jack he may have a new investor, Mika, a distant cousin. Mika was keen to invest, and he’d run a successful restaurant chain in the family’s home country.
Mika decides Trivena’s payroll work could be done more cheaply than by Nickel Turner. So Jack offers to refer the work to King, Hunt & Maxwell LLP, a boutique accountancy outsourcing firm set up by his long-time college friend, Riley.
We soon see how Mika’s injection of money and expertise is radically reversing the chain’s fortunes. “He must be the family’s business guru,” remarked Robyn, one of Jack’s colleagues, tasked with drawing up when reviewing Trivena’s management accounts.
But other things have changed too; there’s huge staff turnover and everyone’s being paid the same. These were put down to “new management, new ideas”. After all, Jack had known Alex for years, Mika was “family” and Riley trusted Jack’s judgement and the quality of his client referrals…so what could go wrong?
Then, when Jack and Riley visit Trivena for a meal, things don’t add up, and Riley starts to ask questions.
They’ll have checked out the cousin. Jack would have flagged any issue” are words Riley King will live to regret.
What happens next reveals the consequences of a string of failures by both accounting firms to carry out thorough and proper AML checks, and the dangers of relying on longstanding relationships to the detriment of professional scepticism.
As the cast of well-known actors brings to life the human cost of economic crime and the ease with which professional advisers can unwittingly become drawn in, audiences are left to reflect on why ‘know your client’ checks and the risks of taking shortcuts are so important.