Lawyer Monthly - January 2022 Edition

hat is the role of a forensic accountant? We specialise in dealing with legal disputes involving money, both criminal and civil. In most cases we are instructed by a lawyer to investigate a situation, produce an independent expert’s report suitable for the Court, and when necessary, give evidence in Court. That can be as a party expert, instructed by one of the parties in a dispute; a single joint expert, normally where the Court specifies this, (which is often the case in matrimonial disputes); independent expert to determine a dispute, usually under the terms of a contract, or sometimes as a shadow expert to advise a party on a dispute. How does the work performed by a forensic accountant differ in civil and criminal cases? Firstly, in some respects they are often very similar. Investigation of financial transactions and production of an independent expert’s report, independent opinion and giving evidence for W Unravelling the Work of Forensic Accountants Offering crucial insights in civil and criminal cases involving finances, accredited forensic accountants are highly sought after for their unique skills. But what is it like to work as one? We hear from David Cook, who dives deep into the processes involved in offering his expertise as a forensic accountant and the challenges that he faces on a regular basis. EXPERT WITNESS 43 JAN 2022 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM the benefit of the Court, are common to both. The main differences are: i. In a civil case, any of the roles that I set out in my answer above can apply. In a criminal case you would only ever act as a party expert for the prosecution or defence. ii. Civil cases are decided on the “balance of probability”; effectively the claimant has to prove their case’s likelihood above 50%. Criminal cases are decided on “proof beyond reasonable doubt”; the prosecution have to prove their case to that standard. iii.They each have their own “CPR” – the Civil Procedure Rules for civil cases and the Criminal Procedure Rules for criminal cases. Work and reports are carried out under the appropriate rule. iv.A criminal report would carry the added declaration that “I have dealt correctly with disclosure and complied with my duty to record, retain and reveal material in accordance with the Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act 196, as amended”. This impacts on the approach to the work, the manner in which information is handled and the degree of certainty that is needed in an opinion. On the criminal side, what is the typical process involved in investigating a case of suspected money laundering? This to quite an extent depends on whether you are instructed by the prosecution or the defence. When instructed by the prosecution you would examine the police reports, witness statements and documents, then review the relevant financial transactions to see whether how and to what extent these are properly recorded, fail to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations – bearing in mind the organisation’s own regulations, if applicable – and who was responsible for the faults. You would then write a report setting out the relevant transactions, the manner and extent to which they do not comply with the regulations and who was responsible. When instructed by the defence you would expect to have some form of report setting out the You have to make sure that you are well prepared, understand the case and your report completely, keep calm and answer questions clearly and relevantly.