The role of a forensic accounting expert witness is to assist the court by providing independent and objective opinions about the case. I strongly believe it is crucial for the expert witnesses to be well trained, educated and not be partisan because expert witnesses who fall short of these standards will have their reports disqualified which means the expert’s report will not be taken as an evidence in court. Disregarded reports or evidences would mean wasted costs and time of the parties involved, it causes damage to not only the expert witness’ reputation but also the company of the expert witness, and most importantly, it will affect the case’s outcome.
In the case of Van Oord UK Ltd and another v Allseas UK Ltd [2015], the expert witness was heavily criticised by the judge for the report he produced and the evidences he presented at trial. The followings were the reasons why (ICAEW, 2016), the expert witness:
- took Van Oords’s words at face value without checking the credibility of the underlying documents that support them
- only looked at witness statements prepared on behalf of Van Oord and even copied parts of the witness statement into his own report
- failed to adhere to the judge’s specific instructions
- formulated claims based on forecasted rates instead of actual costs incurred by Van Oord
- accepted there were errors in his report during cross-examination which led to confusion and admitted he could no longer support important elements of his claim
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References
ICAEW. (2016). When expert witnesses get it wrong. Retrieved from Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales: http://www.icaew.com/en/archive/technical/legal-and-regulatory/forensic/expert-witness/when-expert-witnesses-get-it-wrong
Van Oord UK Ltd & Anr v Allseas UK Ltd. [2015] EWHC 3074 (TCC)
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