Stephen Drain

Stephen Drain

Partner, PwC New Zealand

Stephen engages with clients in situations requiring a high level of trust, assisting them to prevent and respond to crisis situations. He also works with leaders to enable them and their teams to reach their full potential.

As a Consulting Partner in our Forensic Services team, Stephen specialises in all aspects of economic crime including the prevention, detection and response to fraud, corruption and money laundering. He has led and investigated a wide range of financial crimes from initial investigation to final proceedings and is experienced in working discretely with boards and senior leaders to help them meet a range of challenges, including suspected fraud, probity concerns and regulatory investigations.

Stephen also leads an Authentic Leadership development practice at PwC, developing and running bespoke leadership programmes and team-building workshops.

Stephen’s early career was in the New Zealand Police and after qualifying as a detective he moved to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as an investigator. After leaving the SFO, Stephen had two senior roles in leadership development, and joined PwC in 2012.

Engagements and investigations that Stephen has conducted include investigating corruption and fraud allegations against a supplier to Auckland Transport, investigating allegations of dishonest claiming of travel expenses against two District Court judges, investigating Barak Sope, the former prime minister of Vanuatu for corruptly providing several hundred million dollars worth of loan guarantees, fraudulent activities in public companies including Fortex Group and Equiticorp and reviewing the costs and funding of the Forsyth Barr Stadium for Dunedin City Council.

Stephen usually commutes on two wheels - a scooter or an e-bike - and outside work enjoys movies, blogging on leadership and road cycling.

Specialty

  • Fraud control and prevention
  • Investigation
  • Full service Anti-money laundering assistance
  • Authentic Leadership Development
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