Guest Blogger, Richard Forth the Managing Director of specialist Leeds- based forensic accounting firm, Forth Associates explains
I am often asked the question “So why do we need to use a Forensic Accountant? What is wrong with our normal Accountants?”
The answer is, quite simply, that there is nothing wrong with your normal Accountants when they are preparing your year end Accounts, Tax Returns etc, in that this is where their experience lies and it is that experience, coupled with their knowledge of your business, that ensures all of these documents are prepared correctly and submitted to the relevant parties.
Our experience as Forensic Accountants is somewhat different, in that we operate in the area between the legal profession and the accountancy profession, using our skills obtained from training in the accountancy field, but also our knowledge of the law in respect to formulation of quantum in legal cases. The marrying of these skills enables us to prepare reports / advices which pull together rafts of relevant accounting documentation into a report format understood by the Court but, importantly, presented within the prevailing legal framework, such that the losses as presented follow all of the rules established by years of quantum based case law.
This is not a task which necessarily excludes input from your own accountant as they can furnish us with vital knowledge / information to assist us in our task. By presenting losses in this cogent and accepted format, it assists in progressing a case forward from a legal perspective and expediting settlement in the case.
It is often the case that we end up getting involved in cases where there has been substantial circular correspondence from Claimant to Insurance Company to the Claimant’s own accountant which has proved costly and frustrating and in many circumstances simply caused by a lack of knowledge in terms of presentation of information.
Richard Forth
