FTI Consulting boosts Forensic & Litigation team with Natalie Faulkner and Sam Scerri

FTI Consulting has further boosted its Forensic & Litigation practice in Sydney with the hires of Natalie Faulkner and Sam Scerri from KPMG, with both assigned to lead their respective practices.

Natalie Faulkner, previously a partner at KPMG, will lead the Australian Risk & Investigation practice of FTI Consulting as a senior managing director, while Scerri crosses as a managing director to head up the Data & Analytics practice.

Together the pair bring more than four decades worth of combined experience, with Faulker having also served as a director at PwC during her 17 years at the firm and Scerri earlier spending time at both Accenture and Deloitte.

“Our clients around the region are experiencing a highly-regulated environment and pressure from government agencies to improve risk and governance strategies,” said Forensic & Litigation practice leader Dawna Wright of the new recruits, adding they bring the specialised expertise needed to address complex client issues and incidents which typically involve large data sets.

Natalie Faulkner originally joined PwC in the UK in 1999 following a commerce degree in accounting and finance with UNSW, before returning to Australia with the firm three years on. There, she spent more than a decade as a fraud & forensics director between Sydney and Perth prior to joining KPMG, where she was later elevated to partner and led the firm’s global fraud & scam risk group.

Noted for her ability to obtain insights from disparate data sources, Faulkner has amassed significant experience across her career in investigations and fraud detection and prevention, serving as an advisor and expert witness on civil and criminal matters for clients across a range of industries, including the financial services, government, telecom, mining, and construction sectors.

“Businesses need to be able to attest to compliance and identify and address non-compliance through investigation, remediation and resolution in a timely manner,” Faulkner stated. “I look forward to joining the experts at FTI as we apply our global teams’ deep industry knowledge and experience to support clients through these challenges with limited business-as-usual disruption.”

Sam Scerri meanwhile kicked off his career in the banking sector, including a seven year-stint at ANZ between Brisbane and Melbourne rising to corporate advisory director before his shift into consulting with Deloitte and later Accenture. In 2022 he joined KPMG, serving as head of data & technology within the firm’s risk consulting business and then a director of data & AI risk solutions.

In addition to developing AI-driven solutions for various sectors, Scerri’s experience includes capital optimisation and financial restructuring, while in his new role leading FTI Consulting’s data & analytics practice he will be tasked with supporting clients on digital transformations, risk management, regulatory compliance, and investigations & disputes through the use of advanced technologies.

Scerri is not unfamiliar with FTI Consulting, having collaborated with the firm on restructuring matters while at ANZ, but said it’s an exciting time to be a data analytics leader in the finance and risk space with the advent of AI. “FTI Consulting is a firm that embodies the kind of work I really enjoy – tackling proper crisis issues, engaging in important work, and helping clients at their most critical moments.”