Next steps when joint ventures fall apart

• The common disputes which can arise in relation to a joint venture.
• How a forensic accountant can help to clarify financial issues in dispute.

Joint business ventures are common between parties who combine resources to carry out a specific activity. It is important, however, for the parties in a joint venture to be clear as to what they wish to derive from it and for the rights and responsibilities of the participants to be expressed as clearly as possible.

Joint venture disputes

Disputes may arise in situations in which, for example:

• there is no written information, such as a joint venture agreement, on how the joint venture is to be managed and on the roles of the parties;
• there are no financial/accounting provisions in the joint venture agreement or they are not sufficiently clear or specific;
• there is no clarity around the area of financing, including