Masako Asaka has over 20 years of forensic accounting and auditing experience, specializing in fraud investigations and regulatory compliance work. Her expertise includes Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)/anti-bribery and corruption, securities fraud, fraud risk management, third-party/pre-acquisition due diligence, anti-money laundering, and foreclosure review for clients in a variety of industries. Masako works with external and in-house counsel, as well as senior management of companies, to address their concerns, and has broad experience dealing with US regulators.

Masako was a lead director of a monitorship of an automotive engineering company in which FRA’s founding partner was a DOJ-appointed independent compliance monitor. The monitorship mandate included an evaluation of the company’s implementation and enforcement of its corporate compliance, technical compliance, and ethics program.

Other notable experience includes the following:

• Masako served as a lead director of an aviation supply company monitorship in which FRA was retained to provide forensic accounting support to a DOJ-appointed monitor throughout all phases of the monitorship, delivering particular expertise in respect of the company’s internal controls and compliance environment. Over the course of the monitorship, FRA worked with the company’s compliance functions, performing FCPA compliance testing and reviews across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and US.
• Masako provided accounting support to independent co-monitors related to an enforcement action by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) for a member firm of a global network accounting firm which involved reviewing and assessing the firm’s design and execution of its system of quality control, Tone at the Top, ethics helpline system, and training programs, as well as preparing detailed reports related to observations, findings, and recommendations.

Prior to joining FRA, Masako was a Director of KPMG LLP’s Forensic Service, where she was involved in various fraud and FCPA investigations. Before she became a forensic accountant, Masako was an auditor at KPMG, providing financial statement audit services to clients for over four years and gaining experience in financial statement audits, SOX, and internal control testing. During a short-term assignment in Japan, she assisted with JSOX and SOX implementation for Japanese companies.

Masako is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and holds a Certified in Financial Forensics designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations.