Maréma Diop specializes in litigation and regulatory enforcement actions involving financial reporting and auditing, corporate governance issues, forensic analysis, and breach of contract claims. Ms. Diop’s experience spans multiple industries, including financial institutions, investment management, oil and gas, and technology. She leads large teams to support clients and testifying experts across all phases of litigation, including discovery, motion practice, merits, deposition, arbitration, and trial.
Ms. Diop has consulted on matters in U.S. federal and state courts and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, as well as investigations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Her experience includes:
Financial reporting and auditing
Ms. Diop has wide-ranging experience analyzing the financial disclosures of both publicly listed and private companies. In numerous matters, she has assessed the merits of claims concerning financial disclosures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In these contexts, Ms. Diop has evaluated:
- Bases for revenue recognition
- Valuation of allowances for credit losses and financial derivatives
- Completeness of contingent liabilities disclosures
- Reporting of variable interest entities and special purpose entities
- Accuracy of segment disclosures
- Materiality of financial statements disclosures
Ms. Diop has analyzed claims involving the presentation of non-GAAP measures in issuers’ financial reports and the measurement of inputs to financial valuations in a purchase price adjustment dispute. She has also evaluated claims related to effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting at financial institutions and in cross-border mergers.
Ms. Diop has extensive experience evaluating the sufficiency and adequacy of audit procedures performed by registered accounting firms across a range of matters involving auditor liability. She applies this expertise in the context of securities litigation and enforcement actions initiated by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
Corporate governance
Ms. Diop has analyzed the adequacy of companies’ governance processes, including:
- Oversight by boards of directors and C-suite executives of due diligence and governance processes in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as well as corporate restructurings (e.g., Chan et al. v. ArcSoft Inc et al.)
- Disclosures made in proxy/registration statements during initial public offerings (IPOs), annual reports, and other public sources
- Alleged breaches of fiduciary duties by investment advisors
- Alter ego and piercing the corporate veil claims
- Alleged impact of tone at the top in financial frauds
In addition, Ms. Diop has analyzed claims related to executive compensation. Specifically, she has evaluated the exercisability of executive stock options following employment termination and analyzed the value and design of executive incentive awards.
Forensic data analysis
In complex arbitration proceedings, Ms. Diop has overseen forensic analysis of large datasets. Her experience includes:
- Validating the accuracy of sales-volume escrow levies through systemic review and analysis of large-scale sales and banking record datasets
- Tracing money through bank accounts to determine whether funds reserved for restricted use were adequately segregated from general purpose funds
- Assessing the adequacy and extent of the data verification procedures performed by governmental agencies to enforce legislation
Before joining Cornerstone Research, Ms. Diop practiced auditing and risk assurance consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). She is a chartered professional accountant (CPA) and a member of the Quebec CPA Order.
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