Forensic accountancy is a highly skilled profession that involves applying accountancy expertise to legal investigations. Forensic accountancy plays a key role in several legal practice areas, including personal injury, fraud, divorce, and tax.
At Frenkels Forensics, we have been providing forensic accountancy support to leading law firms and barristers chambers, insurance companies, business, and private individuals for many years. Our team of highly qualified forensic accountants work on both civil and criminal matters, regularly acting as expert witnesses and attending court to give evidence. Judges have commended us on our ‘concise and technically easy to understand’ reports, and clients have noted how our input put them in an ‘incredibly strong position’.
For assistance call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry.
What Is Forensic Accountancy?
Forensic accountancy is a specialist branch of general accounting. Forensic accountancy requires not only accounting knowledge but also investigatory skills, a keen eye for detail, and a detailed understanding of the legal principles relevant to the case. Using their unique skill set, a forensic accountant can undertake a meticulous review of an individual or business’s financial circumstances, leaving no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of a particular situation.
Why Is Forensic Accountancy Important?
Legal proceedings comprise two elements: liability and quantum. Liability refers to whether a defendant is responsible for the actions complained of. Quantum is how much a claim is worth. For example, in personal injury cases, a claimant must first prove that the defendant’s negligence was responsible for their injuries. If their legal team overcomes this hurdle, they will need to establish the level of compensation the claimant is entitled to. In some cases, this can be a complex exercise. Take loss of earnings claims, for instance. These claims can include lost opportunities for career advancement, future loss of earnings, and lost benefits, such as healthcare and pension contributions. Personal injury solicitors sometimes require forensic accountancy input to accurately calculate their client’s losses and account for all variables. If the defendant disputes the level of compensation claimed, forensic accountancy evidence may be required to justify the figures to the judge.
What Forensic Accountancy Support Can We Provide?
Our forensic accountancy expertise spans most key areas. Examples of the types of forensic accountancy work we regularly undertake include the following:
• Personal Injury
We are renowned for our work in the field of personal injury, particularly in connection with complex loss of earnings, pension losses and fatal accident claims.
To assist us in our work, our forensic accountants have developed our bespoke, in-house Frenkels Calculator. This advanced software allows us to quickly and easily produce calculations of Ogden multipliers across a variety of scenarios.
• Fraud And Crime
Our leading fraud and crime team have extensive experience in the areas of proceeds of crime, criminal defence, and fraud investigations. We use cutting-edge technology to investigate the Crown Prosecution Service’s report on the benefits allegedly gleaned by the defendant from their unlawful activity. We are often able to identify discrepancies and inaccuracies in the CPS’s figures which their legal advisors can use to reduce their clients’ financial liability.
• Divorce
Full and frank disclosure of a couple’s assets is crucial to a fair financial settlement in divorce proceedings. We regularly assist by valuing businesses as part of a divorce settlement.
• Commercial
We regularly assist businesses of all sizes and across all sectors with resolving commercial issues and disputes. We have expertise and experience in a variety of areas, including professional negligence, mis-selling of interest rate hedging products, business valuations, and expert determination.
• Tax
HMRC investigations can be stressful and complex, but our expert forensic accountants are on hand to guide you through the process. With our experience with all HMRC-related issues, we will ensure you address all of HMRC’s queries swiftly and efficiently. If HMRC identifies discrepancies in your tax affairs, we will negotiate with their officers on your behalf to secure the most lenient penalty possible in the circumstances. We can also assist you with your tax planning strategies and HMRC clearances.
Our forensic accountancy services are entirely flexible, and we can provide as much or as little forensic accountancy support as you need. Examples of the types of work we regularly undertake include the following:
- Producing full CPR-compliant reports
- Preparing letters of advice
- Creating desktop reports
- Producing white-label schedules
- Carrying out computer forensics
- Conducting data analysis
- Acting as expert witnesses
To discover more, please call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry.
“Thanks once again for all your time and efforts. Leading Counsel was again full of praise for your methodical and extremely thorough report, which assisted us greatly and helped us achieve the agreement today.”
“I am indebted to you for your contribution, and for explaining things in plain English such that even lawyers can understand the issues”
“Your advice has been invaluable in bringing the matter to a successful conclusion and I am very grateful for the time you have spent on the case.”
