Core Credentials
ACA / FCA (ICAEW)
Primary chartered accountancy qualification, essential baseline for dispute accountants providing expert witness evidence on accounting matters.
ACCA / FCCA
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, widely recognised in litigation and international arbitration.
CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner)
Issued by ACFE, the primary credential for fraud investigation and forensic accounting in civil and criminal proceedings.
CIMA / FCMA
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, relevant for management accounting disputes and financial modelling in loss quantification.
CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)
Relevant for valuation-heavy dispute accounting and investment disputes in financial services.
CVA / ABV
Business valuation credentials for contentious valuation work.
ICAEW Forensic & Expert Witness Accreditation
ICAEW's specialist accreditation for forensic accounting and expert witness work.
Fellow of Expert Witness Institute (FEWI)
Leading expert witness professional body.
Experience Requirements
- Active professional practice
- 10+ years forensic / dispute accounting experience
- CPR Part 35 report history
- Prior court or arbitration testimony
- Professional indemnity insurance
CPR Part 35 & FPR Part 25
A dispute accountant instructed as an expert witness owes their primary duty to the court under CPR Part 35, not to the instructing solicitor or their client. This applies whether appointed jointly or by one party. Independence is the foundation of credible dispute accounting expert evidence.
Under CPR Part 35 and Practice Direction 35, the expert's overriding duty is to help the court on matters within their expertise. This duty overrides any obligation to the person instructing or paying them. The expert must provide opinions that are independent, objective, and unbiased, and must state the substance of all material instructions.
The leading authority remains *National Justice Compania Naviera SA v Prudential Assurance Co Ltd* ("The Ikarian Reefer") [1993] 2 Lloyd's Rep 68, which established that expert evidence should be independent, objective, and unbiased. Experts must not assume the role of advocate for their instructing party.
Where the court directs a Single Joint Expert (SJE) under CPR 35.7, both parties instruct the same expert jointly. The expert's duty remains to the court. Party-Appointed Experts (PAEs) are instructed by one side; their duty is identical, independence is not diminished by single-party instruction.
Family proceedings requiring accounting expert evidence are governed by FPR Part 25, which mirrors CPR Part 35 in imposing an overriding duty to the court. Dispute accountants instructed in matrimonial financial remedy proceedings provide business valuations, hidden income analysis, and Form E review under the same principles of independence and objectivity. Experts in family proceedings must comply with FPR PD 25A and may be directed to meet and produce a joint statement where both parties have instructed experts on the same issue.
Red Flags
- Full-time expert witness with no active practice
- No prior court testimony
- Cannot explain methodology clearly to non-accountants
- Prior adverse judicial comments on methodology
- No professional indemnity insurance