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Personal Forensic Accounting

Independent financial analysis for disputes, divorces, investigations and situations where the numbers are tested

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There are times when financial analysis has to stand up to challenge. It might be in a court, in front of an arbitrator, across a negotiating table or under the scrutiny of family members in a dispute.

The standard required is fundamentally different from routine accountancy work – and work prepared to a routine standard will not survive the challenge of a contested forum. The analysis has to be built from the outset to withstand disclosure, cross-examination and the scrutiny of the decision-maker who will ultimately weigh it.

Our forensic team works with individuals on matrimonial financial proceedings, partnership disputes, shareholder actions, professional negligence claims and other contentious situations where the financial position is at issue.

The work is technical, evidence-based and prepared by experienced forensic accountants. Where the case requires it, expert witness duties are carried out by partners with substantive court experience.

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Related services

How we deliver personal forensic work

Every engagement is scoped carefully before substantive work begins.

The procedural setting, the standard of evidence required, the eventual forum in which the work will be tested and the position of the party engaging us all shape the methodology.

Investigative procedures are run with documentary discipline.
Working papers are prepared to a standard that will withstand disclosure and cross-examination.

The expert opinion or report that emerges is grounded in evidence that is itself defensible.

Our expertise

  • Matrimonial financial proceedings and asset valuation
  • Single joint expert and party-appointed expert work
  • Business valuations in dispute contexts
  • Partnership and shareholder dispute analysis
  • Loss of earnings and personal injury financial assessments
  • Professional negligence claims
  • Tracing of assets and financial flows
  • Crypto asset tracing and analysis
  • Investigation of suspected financial misconduct
  • Expert witness reports and oral evidence

In matrimonial proceedings, our work spans valuation of business interests, analysis of income capacity, identification of available capital and the financial implications of proposed settlement structures.

We act as single joint expert or party-appointed expert depending on what the procedural setting allows and the instructing parties agree.

What you can expect from our forensic team

Three principles define our forensic work:

Procedurally disciplined

Methodology is set with the forum and the standard of evidence in mind. Working papers are maintained to a standard that withstands disclosure, cross-examination or regulatory inspection.

Communicated to the decision-makers

Reports and oral evidence are written and given for judges, arbitrators and counsel rather than for fellow accountants. The work is technically rigorous but the presentation is built for the audience that will weigh it.

Independent in posture and substance

Where the role is that of an expert witness, the independence is real. The opinion we give is the opinion the evidence supports and it does not bend to the instructing party’s preference.

Individuals and their legal advisers engage us on forensic work when the conclusion must hold up to the closest available scrutiny – and when they need a forensic team that will guide them through the methodology, the evidence and the expert duties with complete independence and without flinching under challenge.

They want experienced forensic accountants whose work, opinion and testimony will survive contact with the other side.

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Why choose Macalvins?

With our team, you get precision, continuity and the kind of considered advice that comes from people who know your numbers as well as you do.

As a Top 100 UK accountancy firm with international reach through PrimeGlobal, Macalvins brings that depth of expertise to every client, at every stage of growth.

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Insights

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you act as an expert witness in court?

Yes. Several of our forensic team are experienced expert witnesses under CPR Part 35 and the equivalent procedural rules in other forums. We have given expert evidence in commercial disputes, shareholder actions, partnership disputes, matrimonial financial proceedings and other litigation. The duties owed to the court are carried out with the seriousness they require.

What is single joint expert work in divorce proceedings?

A single joint expert is appointed by both parties to provide an independent valuation or analysis that both sides will rely on. The duties run to the court rather than to either party. The role requires complete independence and the work has to be prepared to that standard from the outset. We act as single joint expert regularly in matrimonial financial proceedings.

We are concerned about financial conduct by another family member or business associate. How should we proceed?

Carefully. The first steps of any internal investigation often shape its eventual outcome. We work with you and your legal advisers to define the scope, preserve evidence, conduct enquiries with appropriate protocol and report to whatever standard the situation will eventually be tested against. Early specialist input protects the position better than later remedial work.