Grant Thornton appoints Paul Fontanot as head of forensic consulting
Accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton has appointed industry veteran Paul Fontanot as its new national head of forensic consulting, taking over from Alex Bell one year after joining the firm.
Fontanot crossed to Grant Thornton as a partner in Sydney last October after having established and led the forensic & technology services division for law firm Clayton Utz, before that spending close to two decades at Ernst & Young in Australia and overseas.
Grant Thornton said the appointment marked the next phase of growth for its forensics practice at a time of increasing commercial and regulatory complexity, with Bell, who originally joined the firm from KordaMentha in 2015, handing over after five years in the role.
“My time leading the forensic consulting team has been a privilege, and I’m thrilled to see Paul take on this leadership role,” said Bell, who will now focus on his work in litigation and payroll remediation services. “With experience across accounting, consulting, and law, he is well placed to drive the practice’s continued growth and inspire the next generation of forensic accountants.”
An accounting sciences graduate of the University of South Africa, Fontanot kicked off his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young in South Africa in 1998, before spending time with the firm in the US and ultimately joining its Australian branch in 2008 as Oceania managing partner for fraud investigation & dispute services – where he led multi-jurisdictional investigations across APAC.
From there, he built the forensics practice at Clayton Utz, leading multidisciplinary teams of accountants, data scientists, engineers, and lawyers on complex engagements spanning the government, financial services, resources, construction, and tech sectors and covering large-scale investigations, regulatory inquiries, cyber incidents, litigation support, and risk transformation.
More recently, since arriving at Grant Thornton, Fontanot’s key engagements have included an investigation into possible misleading and/or fraudulent conduct by four former employees of a gas field equipment and services provider, and a confidential forensic investigation into the suspected leak of sensitive governance and workplace investigation materials in support of legal counsel.
“It is exciting to step into this role and build on the strong reputation Alex has established over many years,” Fontanot said. “I look forward to working with the team to deepen our forensic capabilities, support the development of our people, and help clients respond to complex challenges and make informed decisions that strengthen their organisations through data-driven insights.”
