When the numbers don't add up, boards and owners need more than suspicion. We conduct independent forensic investigations of association finances — tracing transactions, testing controls, and reconstructing what actually happened — and deliver findings that hold up with owners, lenders, regulators, and the courts.
We don't manage associations, sell reserve studies, or audit on behalf of management companies. Our only obligation is to the client who engaged us — and to the evidence.
Findings you can take to counsel, lenders, or a courtroom.
Most engagements begin with a specific concern — a balance that moved without explanation, a vendor relationship that looks too close, reserves that vanished faster than the schedule predicted. We define the question precisely, gather the financial statements, bank records, contracts, and governance records, and trace the money to a documented conclusion.
You get a clear, evidence-based report written to be understood by a board and to withstand scrutiny by a court. Every conclusion is tied to source documents, and we explain not just what we found but what it means and what to do next.
Michael J. Novak is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Common Interest Advisors. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and brings more than four decades of accounting experience, including more than thirty years serving community associations and nonprofit organizations.
Common Interest Advisors provides independent financial, governance, budgeting, reserve funding, and forensic advisory services to condominium, homeowners, and cooperative associations.
Tell us what you're seeing and send whatever records you have. Inquiries are confidential and go to info@cia.mba.
See it in the real world — our forensic review of 175 East Delaware Place uncovered roughly $30M in unfunded reserves and $23M held in accounts with no board signatory. Read the case study →
Common Interest Advisors, LLC provides non-attest forensic accounting and consulting services and is not a licensed public accounting firm. This page is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice.