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Government pressure forces forensic accountants to register

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2nd Oct 2009
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Launched today at Chartered Accountants’ Hall in London, the Forensic Accountant and Expert Witness Accreditation scheme was developed in response to pressure from the government for an improvement in the credibility of evidence presented to the legal system. The scheme was designed with input from a range of organisations, including both large firms and sole practitioners.

Forensic accountants are invited to apply for accreditation and those who are successful will be added to the specialist forensic accountant and expert witness online public register, which clients can use to seek experts in this area.

While it’s not compulsory to register, a spokesperson for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales informed us that legal professionals will increasingly be looking to accredited professionals as a more reliable source of evidence for court proceedings.
To remain on the register, members will be required to go through a revalidation process every three years to help ensure the register’s ongoing reliability and integrity.

“In our modern complex financial world resolving business disputes is a very different detective story, and the forensic accountant and expert witness can hold the key. They can bring together a range of skills, including accounting, information technology and analytical interpretation. The key factor that makes a good practitioner in this field is the ability to digest large amounts of financial data and to turn it into something that will assist the law enforcement agencies in coming to a decision”, said Peter Silk, chairman of the Forensic Special Interest Group at the ICAEW.

“This new register sets the industry benchmark for professionalism, experience and specialist knowledge and the rigorous assessment from the ICAEW will provide assurance and confidence that the people on the register are experts in this field.”

For further information about the Forensic Accountant and Expert Witness Accreditation visit www.icaew.com/forensicaccreditation

 

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David Winch
By David Winch
06th Oct 2009 14:29

Expert witnesses in court

Over recent years there has been some concern about expert witness evidence in court.

It is fair to say that the greatest concern has not attached to accountant expert witnesses, but steps are being proposed with a view to ensuring that experts of all types have an adequate level of expertise in their subject and a suitable knowledge of relevant court proceedings and requirements and their legal obligations and role.

For example, an expert witness needs to understand that his role is to be objective and unbiased - not to seek only to advance the cause of 'his side'.  An expert also is only permitted to comment on those areas in which his expertise is relevant.  So an accountant expert, for example, should not comment on anything in the case to which accountancy is not relevant.

The government is also attempting to reduce the amount spent from the Legal Aid budget on experts by 20% across the board.

So the ICAEW initiative has to be seen in the context of the steps being taken with regard to expert witnesses generally and, of course, it applies to criminal cases (from which I earn my crust) as well as civil disputes.

David

www.AccountingEvidence.com

 

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