Who’s Who Legal names Gwynn Hopkins as a forensic accounting thought leader
“A very good person to have on your side” says Who’s Who Legal. Meet Gwynn Hopkins, one of Hong Kong’s leading insolvency practitioners and forensic accounts.
As founder and a managing director of Hong Kong-based Perun Consultants, Gwynn Hopkins has become an expert in complex, contentious and cross-border forensic accounting and insolvency matters.
With more than two decades of experience working in Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom, he has developed a proven track record for dealing with serious fraudulent conduct, forensic accounting and asset tracing.
His work hasn’t gone unnoticed either. According to Who’s Who Legal, Gwynn is seen as a thought leader in his field, with many peers and clients praising his passion, dedication and expertise to his craft.
“Gwynn Hopkins is a market-leading name who impresses sources with his very hands-on approach to asset tracing and recovery proceedings,” says one advocate, while another adds: “Gwynn Hopkins excels in contentious matters, particularly those with an international element, and "is able to assimilate large amounts of data and quickly make sense of them.”
Training at a boutique accounting firm that had a strong focus on forensic accounting led Gwynn on the path to Perun. He says of the impact his early career had on him: “I trained at a UK boutique accounting firm that had a strong forensic accounting expert as its senior partner. Even while working as a junior auditor, I got involved in numerous forensic accounting matters covering valuation, asset tracing and account reconstruction disputes. The cases were always interesting and required strong analytical and investigative skills that I enjoyed developing. I continued my career with forensic accounting, which has led to me also becoming an insolvency and restructuring practitioner, working in multiple offshore jurisdictions to undertake challenging assignments.”.
Hong Kong’s leading practitioner
Now, Who’s Who Legal calls him “Undoubtedly the leading practitioner in Hong Kong right now” and a “market-leading name who impresses sources with his very hands-on approach to asset tracing and recovery proceedings”.
As a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a Certified Public Accountant (Hong Kong), and a Certified Fraud Examiner, Gwynn is ideally placed to provide advice not just in contentious matters but also in non-contentious ones such as commercial due diligence, MBO pricing, and valuation advice for restructuring projects. He has also been instructed as an expert witness and consulting expert in a range of court cases and arbitration proceedings, dealing with valuation and damages disputes, allegations of fraudulent conduct.
With such global, varied and high-profile experience, it’s little wonder his peers and clients call him “a very good person to have on your side” with “extensive experience of a wide range of novel matters involving many of the most challenging jurisdictions”. Another adds: “Gwynn Hopkins excels in contentious matters, particularly those with an international element, and is able to assimilate large amounts of data and quickly make sense of them".
Mentoring the next generation
As well as providing his clients with an unrivalled service, Gwynn’s focus is on the future and the next wave of insolvency and forensic accounting talent. “Bringing up the next generation of appointment takers is an important goal,” he says. “We have several staff at various stages of their career, who I hope to see gaining their own WWL entries in the years ahead.”
As Perun Consultants expands in the region, it’s investing in people and tools to ensure it continues to thrive in the face of new technologies and unstable political and economic global landscapes.
For Gwynn, mentoring the next generation to realise and fulfil their own dreams is crucial to this strategy. What does Gwynn look out for in future accounting stars? “Technical expertise, aptitude, drive and integrity are essential qualities of a forensic accountant,” he says. “Their work should masterfully blend analytical and investigative skills and be able to clearly explain to non-accountants the work undertaken. If the outcome of the work can’t be understood by the end user, it’s of no value.”
Please contact us if you would like to see what Gywnn and his team could do for you.