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Forensic Accountants

Forensic Accountants: directory of firms

Forensic accounting is accountancy done for a dispute. The output is not a set of accounts but an opinion that has to survive cross-examination: how much was taken, what a business was worth on a given date, what a breach of contract actually cost, or whether a set of books reflects what really happened.

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This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals. Ask for their licence or registration number before you share any details.

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Most instructions come through solicitors. Some come from companies that suspect internal fraud and want to know what they are dealing with before they accuse anyone. Others come from matrimonial proceedings, shareholder disputes, insurance claims, professional negligence cases and criminal proceedings where the numbers are the evidence.

In court proceedings the rules are set by Civil Procedure Rules Part 35, and they change how the work is done. The expert's duty is to help the court on matters within their expertise, and that duty overrides any obligation to the person who instructed and is paying them. No party may call an expert or put in an expert's report without the court's permission. An accountant who does not work that way is not doing forensic work, whatever the letterhead says.

What forensic accountants are instructed to do

  • Quantify loss in a commercial dispute: lost profits, wasted costs, or the difference between promised and delivered performance.
  • Trace and reconstruct misappropriated funds where records have been altered or destroyed.
  • Value a private company or a shareholding at a specific date, often for a divorce or a shareholder exit.
  • Investigate suspected internal fraud and report on what the evidence supports.
  • Review another expert's report and identify where its assumptions do not hold.
  • Assist in criminal proceedings where the accounting evidence has to be explained to a jury.

The expert's duty to the court under CPR Part 35

Rule 35.3 states that it is the duty of experts to help the court on matters within their expertise, and that this duty overrides any obligation to the person from whom they have received instructions. That is the defining feature of the role and the reason a forensic accountant will sometimes deliver an answer their instructing party does not want.

Rule 35.10(2) requires that at the end of an expert's report there must be a statement that the expert understands and has complied with their duty to the court. Reports must also state the substance of the material instructions received, and those instructions are not generally privileged from disclosure if the court has reason to doubt the report's accuracy.

Permission is not automatic. Rule 35.4(1) provides that no party may call an expert or put in evidence an expert's report without the court's permission, and an application must give a cost estimate and identify the field or the named expert.

How experts are instructed: single joint, party-appointed, or advisory

  • A single joint expert can be directed by the court under rule 35.7(1), giving evidence on an issue for both parties at once.
  • Where the parties cannot agree who that should be, the court may select from a list supplied or direct another method of selection.
  • A party-appointed expert produces their own report, still owing the overriding duty to the court.
  • An advisory or shadow expert assists a legal team without giving evidence, which is a different engagement with a different scope.
  • Cost estimates are part of the permission application, so scope has to be defined before the work starts.

How a forensic engagement runs

  • Conflict check and a written instruction setting out the questions to be answered.
  • Document collection: ledgers, bank statements, contracts, emails and the accounting system data itself.
  • Reconstruction of the accounting picture where records are incomplete or have been manipulated.
  • Analysis and testing of the competing explanations, rather than the one the client prefers.
  • A report in CPR-compliant form with the statement of compliance with the duty to the court.
  • Experts' discussions, a joint statement of what is agreed and disagreed, and giving evidence if it goes that far.

Indicators that bring companies to a forensic accountant

  • Supplier accounts that only one person ever handles, and that person never takes leave.
  • Credit notes or write-offs clustering around particular customers or particular months.
  • Bank reconciliations with persistent unexplained differences that get carried forward.
  • Payroll entries for people nobody in operations recognises.
  • Accounting records that are missing, unreadable or that changed after a query was raised.
  • Round-sum payments to new suppliers with thin documentation behind them.

Forensic accountant, auditor and insolvency practitioner

An auditor gives an opinion on whether financial statements give a true and fair view. Statutory audit is a licensed activity: the FRC recognises four supervisory bodies for it, ACCA, Chartered Accountants Ireland, ICAEW and ICAS, under Schedule 10 of the Companies Act 2006. An audit is not designed to detect every fraud and is not an investigation.

An insolvency practitioner takes a formal appointment over an insolvent business, which requires a licence from ICAEW, the IPA or ICAS under the Insolvency Act 1986. Their duties run to creditors and the process, not to whoever engaged them.

A forensic accountant investigates and reports for a dispute. The role requires no licence, which is exactly why the professional body, the track record of giving evidence, and the willingness to be cross-examined matter so much.

What a forensic accountant will not do for you

  • Reach a conclusion you specify in advance; the duty to the court overrides the instructing party.
  • Work on a fee contingent on the outcome, which would compromise independence.
  • Give legal advice or decide questions of liability, which remain for the lawyers and the court.
  • Conduct interviews or searches that a solicitor should be directing.
  • Suppress a finding that damages the case that paid for the report.

Forensic Accountants: frequently asked questions

Whose side is the forensic accountant on?

In court proceedings, the court's. CPR rule 35.3 states that the expert's duty to help the court on matters within their expertise overrides any obligation to the person who instructed them. A useful expert tells you early if the numbers do not support your case.

Do I need the court's permission for an expert report?

Yes. Rule 35.4(1) says no party may call an expert or put in evidence an expert's report without the court's permission, and the application must include a cost estimate and identify the field or the named expert. Your solicitor handles the application, but the scope has to be settled first.

Can one expert act for both sides?

Yes. Rule 35.7(1) allows the court to direct that evidence on an issue be given by a single joint expert. If the parties cannot agree who, the court may choose from a list they supply or direct another method of selection. It is common where the amounts at stake do not justify two experts.

Is a forensic accountant the same as an auditor?

No. An audit gives an opinion on whether financial statements give a true and fair view and is a licensed activity restricted to firms registered with one of the FRC's four Recognised Supervisory Bodies. A forensic investigation is targeted at specific questions in a dispute, and looks at material an audit would never reach.

We think a director has been taking money. What happens next?

Take advice from a solicitor before confronting anyone, and get the records secured. Separately, the Insolvency Service investigates directors where a company becomes insolvent or following complaints, and unfit conduct including not keeping proper accounting records, not filing at Companies House, not paying company tax and using company money or assets for personal benefit can lead to disqualification for up to 15 years.

Sources

  1. Civil Procedure Rules Part 35 — Experts and Assessors
  2. FRC — Recognition of RSBs and RQBs for statutory audit
  3. GOV.UK — Regulated Professions Register: insolvency practitioner
  4. GOV.UK — Company director disqualification
  5. GOV.UK — Running a limited company: company and accounting records

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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What affects the fees forensic accountants charge

Fees depend on the work involved and how the professional bills. We only publish fee ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the fee:

  • Scope and complexity of the work
  • How the professional bills: hourly, flat fee or retainer
  • Experience and seniority of the person doing the work
  • Deadlines and how urgent the work is
  • Third-party costs such as filing, registration or government fees

How to compare forensic accountants before you hire

  • Check that they are licensed or registered for this work where you live, on the regulator’s public register.
  • Look for experience with matters like yours, and ask who will actually handle your file.
  • Ask how they charge before any work starts, and get the terms in writing.
  • Compare two or three professionals before you decide.
  • Be wary of anyone who guarantees a particular outcome.

Questions to ask forensic accountants before you hire

  • Are you licensed or registered for this work, and with which body?
  • Have you handled matters like mine before?
  • Who will do the work, and who will I deal with day to day?
  • How do you charge: hourly, a flat fee or a retainer?
  • What is included in your fee, and what costs extra?
  • Will you confirm the scope and fees in a written engagement letter?
  • Do you carry professional liability insurance?

Licences and registration

This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals, and the rules depend on where you are. Ask which body they’re registered with, and check their status on that body’s public register before you hire.

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