Expert Witness
HOW CAN MARK JENNER & CO HELP AS AN EXPERT ACCOUNTING WITNESS?
Many of the fraud and financial crime investigations I carry out result in findings that require presentation of expert accounting evidence to a Court or other body in a way that will be credible and assist the matters in hand. Therefore I am experienced in providing expert forensic accountancy reports and expert oral testimony in a range of circumstances:
- Criminal defence of white collar crime, money laundering and proceeds of crime cases;
- As joint expert witness when two or more criminal defendants in the same case take a non conflicting stance;
- Expert accounting reports for the police economic crime departments and fraud squads;
- Acting as expert accountant providing accounting and investigation support for fraud regulators;
- Provision of expert reports for victims of crime – for various purposes including asset recovery, informing the authorities and dealing with employment matters;
- Providing financial expertise, advice and evidential reports in cases involving asset tracing in divorce settlements, extradition hearings and loss of profits or earnings in contractual disputes.
The term “forensic” regarding a forensic accountant means “…pertaining to the court…” and is applied to somebody who examines evidence and provides an opinion about that evidence for the benefit of the judge (and jury in criminal trials). Thus the term expert witness applied to an accountant means that person gives expert accounting evidence in court. Sometimes expert witness services are called litigation support.
An expert witness must be credible and capable and it is for a judge to decide whether expert evidence is persuasive or not, and where both sides produce opposing experts, which expert evidence is to be favored. Lord Justice Auld said:
“…The best expert witness in most cases is likely to be one who practices, as well as giving expert evidence, in his discipline, rather than the ‘professional’ expert witness – one who does little else. Justice is best served by attracting persons of a high level of competence and experience to this work…”
I am proud to be an independent fraud professional who regularly investigates fraud for the fraud regulators and victims of fraud alike. I am therefore doing the job as well as working as a professional witness. Over the years I have developed a fraud expertise that together with my accountancy, expert witness and fraud management accreditation allows me to present my findings or analyse other expert reports as an independent expert. I have been instructed as a lead expert witness personally since 1994 – for over 18 years. I attend Court frequently and am called upon to give oral evidence on a regular basis.
