About
Giovanni Foti is a partner at Accuracy. He has over 35 years of professional experience in audit and financial consulting and is specialised in arbitration, forensic accounting and compliance risk management, fraud investigation and dispute services.
As a Certified Chartered Accountant (Dottore Commercialista) and Certified Public Accountant, he has performed valuations and financial analysis, appraisal and fairness opinion engagements.
Before setting up Accuracy’s Italian office, Giovanni worked as an executive director in the Fraud Investigation & Dispute practice of Ernst & Young, focusing on fraud investigations, litigation, arbitration, expert witness, forensic accounting and compliance risk management. Prior to joining the Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, he gained extensive experience as an auditor in Arthur Andersen.
Giovanni speaks Italian and English.
Qualifications
- Graduated in Economics – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan
- Certified Public Accountant
- Dottore Commercialista (Certified Chartered Account)
Rankings
In-depth expertise
Giovanni has been involved in analysis and computation of accrued damages and lost profit in litigation and arbitration cases, as well as in the analysis and validation of the gross margin of carve-outs in sell-side, litigation and criminal proceedings situations.
He has also participated, as a panellist, at various conferences including:
- International construction disputes: dispute board and arbitration (Milan Chamber of Arbitration, 2011)
- Quantification of damages in commercial arbitration: mission impossible? (Milan Chamber of Arbitration, 2018)
- Italy’s Appeal in the International Arbitration Market – What’s new after the recent legislation changes? (Milan Legalcommunity Week, 2022)
- Cybersecurity in the age of emerging technologies (Rome, Inhousecommunity Days, 2023)
- Forensic Technology in trials: what’s next? (Milan, Legalcommunity Week, 2023).
His publications include:
- Arbitrato internazionale: più garanzie con un consulente indipendente (International arbitration – higher assurances with an independent expert, Sole 24 Ore, 2011)
- Il ruolo del consulente indipendente: l’esperienza di Accuracy (The independent adviser’s role: Accuracy experience, Accuracy.com, 2012)
- Così le aziende riducono il contenzioso negli appalti (How to reduce litigation within long-term projects, La Repubblica, 2014)
- Grandi opere – come dribblare i contenziosi (Long-term projects: how to avoid litigation, Milano Finanza, 2014)
- La gestione tecnico legale del contenzioso negli appalti (Legal and technical management of litigation in long-term projects, Legalcommunity.it, 2015)
- How to manage long contracts in difficult situations (Sole 24 Ore, 2018)
- Integrated Due Diligence: a mosaic of expertise to reduce the risk (Fraud&White collar crime Expert Guide, 2022)
Example of engagements
Fraud, Litigation & Arbitration
- Acted as expert witness in several arbitration and litigation cases in the transportation (train and aircraft), construction, energy and telecommunication sectors
- Independent expert in an arbitration between two Israeli car dealers of FCA brands following the merger (Fiat/Chrysler) and the reorganisation of the commercial structure
- Computation of accrued damage and lost profit suffered by our client, a transport company, in the context of a request for compensation for damage within an antitrust violation committed by European truck manufacturers and sellers
- Damage quantification and a customer base valuation for an Italian distributor within its civil proceedings against its former single supplier
- Financial valuation of the losses resulting from a delay to delivery and of warranties and penalties of the long-term contract. Supported the company and its lawyers in preparing the related summons
- Several quantifications of damages and losses in a dispute over delays to completion of a long-term construction contract
- Quantification of damages and causalities resulting from a fraud by former executives in financial institutions, admitted to extraordinary administration proceedings by the Italian Economy and Finance Ministry
- Technical scrutiny of events relating to sanctioning proceedings notified by Banca d’Italia to an Italian financial services company
- Several fraud investigations, gap analysis and stress tests of antibribery and anticorruption model (in Italy 231 model) of banks and corporates
- Mapping/design/implementation of procedures to manage/monitor a long-term contract order
- Support to licensors in licensing management projects (anticounterfeiting/“grey market”)
- Expert adviser engaged by Special Manager appointed by the Italian Economy Minister in the bankruptcy procedure of a large company
- Conducted investigation for a government agency to verify the reliability of cost statements by a hospital for governmental contributions
- Preparation of an expert report challenging the results of the valuation report issued by an Italian adviser in the context of the arbitration between two Israeli car dealers of Fiat-Chrysler brands
- Forensic Investigation for a GDO company stemming from a whistleblower report indicating a potential inappropriate relationship between the procurement manager of the company and the main supplier within the construction, in the context of a tender
Valuation
- Expert appraisals for the contribution-in-kind of business units and shares in several companies (Kering, Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta, Sisal Group, etc.)
- Valuation of the carve-out of a French energy multinational group and expert appraisal for the contribution-in-kind of the business to a new company
- Valuation of a carve-out business of a French multinational operating in rail transport markets and expert appraisal for the contribution-in-kind of the business of train maintenance.
- Appraisal valuation of the fair value of certain assets in the course of the purchase price allocation for the acquisition of a target in the pharmaceutical business
- Assessment of the fair value of commercial licenses related to a retail park located in Italy
- Expert appraisal valuations for listed companies related to contributions in kind in NewCo according to Italian law (art. 2343 and 2465 Civil Code)
- Assessment of the fair value of assets in the context of a PPA in accordance with IFRS 3 for the acquisition of a company operating in the pharma industry
- Valuation and fairness opinion of the shareholders’ equity of Vibo Valentia execution centre branch of business in the context of the disposal to the controlled entity ENI
- Valuation and fairness opinion on numerous brands/businesses in the context of M&A transactions and internal reorganisation
- Financial modelling and negotiation support in the context of project finance for a leading company operating in the gas distribution industry in Southern Italy
- Preparation and modelling of a five-year monthly business plan in the context of insolvency proceedings (art. 182 L.F.)