Forensic accountants specialise in Contentious valuations, including as an expert in commercial and matrimonial actions; Expert determination assignments; Quantification of damages in loss of profits & other commercial cases and Quantification of loss of earnings in personal injury cases.
The forensic accountant has considerable experience of assisting clients in litigation cases and other forensic assignments and our experience includes partners who have given oral evidence in the County Courts, the High Court, the Criminal Courts and before tax tribunals.
As no two forensic matters are the same it is difficult to describe a typical client. At the moment, there appears to be a lot of contentious valuation assignments being undertaken, either in a commercial context where shareholders or partners have fallen out with one another, or in matrimonial cases where husband and wife are getting divorced and there is a need to value the family business.
We also specialise in expert determination work, where two parties refer a dispute to a jointly appointed expert to resolve. These assignments typically arise in the context of the sale and purchase of a company where there may be a mechanism for adjusting the price of the business that has been bought by reference to the net assets at the completion of the transaction. In some cases, Buyers and Sellers are unable to agree the amounts at which items should be included in the completion accounts and may ultimately appoint an expert to determine the relevant figures.
The impact of the downturn
An economic downturn can be the catalyst for increased forensic cases. The incidence of fraud increases in a recession, or at least there is a tendency for greater reporting of fraud cases.
People feel financial pressure in a downturn and start to take advantage of weaknesses in financial controls at the businesses they work for. Commercial contracts come under greater scrutiny, with some businesses choosing to terminate contracts to save money, but if there is a breach and someone is due money under the terms of the contract, commercial disputes can arise and the expertise of forensic accountants can be called upon.
In the world of mergers & acquisitions, what seemed like a good deal when the economy was growing may look less convincing in recessionary times and parties may resort to expert determination, where there are provisions to do so, or alternatively look at whether there has been any breach of warranty claims.
Also, husbands and wives may be driven to divorce because of financial pressures during a recession and there may be a need to appoint an expert accountant to value business assets as part of the divorce proceedings.