What a Forensic Accountant Does and When You Need One

If you hear the term “forensic accountant”, it can sound a bit intimidating. You might think of criminal trials, fraud squads, or complicated court battles. Sometimes it does involve those things. But in simple terms, a forensic accountant helps you make sense of financial issues when the numbers are disputed, unclear, or potentially misleading.

That could mean investigating suspected fraud, valuing a business in a shareholder dispute, reviewing financial records in a divorce, or quantifying a loss for a legal claim. The role is less about routine bookkeeping and more about analysing evidence, spotting inconsistencies, and explaining what the financial information really shows.

At SCC Chartered Accountants, Forensics & Investigations is part of a wider advisory offering across the UK and Ireland. SCC says its forensic team works across fraud and crime investigation, matrimonial matters, business dispute resolution, forensic M&A, due diligence, and business valuation. SCC also states that its team has over 25 years of experience and has handled 1000’s of cases. 

What does a forensic accountant actually do?

A forensic accountant examines financial information in detail and turns it into something useful for decision-making. That might be for you, your solicitor, your insurer, your fellow shareholders, or the court.

In practice, this can involve reviewing bank statements, accounts, contracts, payroll records, invoices, emails, tax returns, and digital records. It can also mean tracing where money has gone, checking whether figures have been manipulated, assessing whether losses are genuine, and putting a value on a business or shareholding.

The key difference is that the work is done with scrutiny in mind. A forensic accountant is not just preparing numbers. They are testing them.

SCC Chartered Accountants’ forensic service page specifically lists personal injury and fatality work, matrimonial matters, fraud and crime investigation, business dispute resolution, forensic M&A services and due diligence, and business valuation.

How a forensic accountant differs from your usual accountant

Your day-to-day accountant might help you with tax returns, annual accounts, compliance, payroll, or management reporting. That is important work, but it is usually based on records being broadly accurate and the objective being routine compliance or planning.

A forensic accountant steps in when there is disagreement, suspicion, loss, or risk.

For example, your normal accountant may help with Tax Compliance and reporting deadlines. A forensic accountant may be asked whether the records behind those figures can be relied on in the first place.

Your accountant may support forecasting and commercial planning. A forensic accountant may be asked to calculate the financial impact of fraud, a breach of contract, or a shareholder fallout.

That is why forensic work often overlaps with wider services such as Internal Audit, External Audit, Corporate Finance, Recovery & Restructuring, and SME Business Solutions. SCC Chartered Accountants presents these as part of a broader advisory offering across its UK, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland presence.

When you might need a forensic accountant

There is no single trigger point, but there are some common situations where bringing in a forensic accountant makes good sense.

1. Suspected fraud or financial misconduct

If funds are missing, supplier payments look unusual, expense claims do not make sense, or you suspect someone has manipulated records, a forensic accountant can investigate what happened and quantify the financial impact.

Fraud remains a major issue. In England and Wales, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated 4.2 million fraud incidents in the year ending September 2025, with around 3.1 million involving a loss. In Northern Ireland, PSNI said that from April 2024 to April 2025 it received 192 reports of investment fraud with financial losses of £3,680,161.33. In Ireland, An Garda Síochána reported that national Fraud/Economic Crime was up 73% in provisional H1 2025 figures compared with H1 2024. 

2. Shareholder or partnership disputes

When business owners fall out, arguments often centre on value, profit extraction, historic transactions, or whether one party has acted unfairly. A forensic accountant can review the records independently and help separate opinion from evidence.

SCC Chartered Accountants specifically lists valuation of businesses, companies, trusts and partnerships, review of completion accounts, shareholder disputes including minority shareholder prejudice, merger and acquisition disputes, breach of contract and warranty disputes, and professional negligence claims within its business dispute resolution offering. 

3. Divorce or matrimonial cases involving businesses

If one or both spouses have company interests, the financial picture may be more complicated than a glance at the latest accounts suggests. A forensic accountant can assess maintainable earnings, business value, corporate structures, pension implications, and tax effects of different settlement options.

SCC Chartered Accountants’ forensic page highlights matrimonial support including valuation of businesses, Form E investigations, Duxbury calculations, pension-splitting issues, review of other experts’ reports, and evidencing cryptocurrency transactions. 

4. Business interruption and loss of profit claims

If your business suffers a major disruption, it is not enough to say you lost money. You usually need to show how much was lost and how the figure was calculated. A forensic accountant can assess turnover trends, gross margins, fixed costs, and likely counterfactual performance to support a properly reasoned claim.

This kind of work is especially important where insurers, legal teams, or the other side will want the loss tested carefully rather than accepted at face value.

5. Breach of contract or professional negligence claims

Where poor advice, incomplete disclosures, or a broken agreement has caused financial harm, a forensic accountant can quantify the loss and help test whether the claim stands up commercially and evidentially.

SCC Chartered Accountants expressly notes pre-action advice on liability and quantum in breach of warranty claims, completion account disputes, warranty and indemnity insurance claims, and professional negligence claims. 

6. Insolvency or financial distress

If a company is heading towards insolvency, questions often arise about historic transactions, solvency, director conduct, and recoverability. In England and Wales, there were 2,000 registered company insolvencies in September 2025. In Northern Ireland, there were 28 company insolvencies in the same month. For the Republic of Ireland, published market tracking showed 197 insolvencies in Q3 2025 and 641 year-to-date by the end of that quarter, illustrating that distress and restructuring pressures are not confined to one jurisdiction. In situations like these, forensic work may sit closely alongside Recovery & Restructuring and wider advisory support. 

Can a forensic accountant act as an expert witness?

Yes. In the right matter, a forensic accountant may prepare an expert report for court or tribunal proceedings.

In England and Wales, CPR Part 35 says an expert’s duty is to help the court on matters within their expertise, and that this duty overrides any obligation to the person instructing or paying them. In Ireland, the Superior Courts Rules state that it is the duty of an expert to assist the court within their field of expertise and that this duty overrides any obligation to the paying party. That means the underlying principle is similar, even though the procedural rules are not identical.

For readers in Northern Ireland, the exact procedural route may differ again, so it is better not to assume that one set of civil procedure rules applies across every jurisdiction. The important point is that forensic accountants acting as experts are expected to be independent and objective.

What the process usually looks like

Most forensic accounting work follows a similar pattern.

First, the issue is defined clearly. What is being alleged? What question needs answering? What is at stake?

Next, the documents are reviewed. That may include statutory accounts, management information, bank records, contracts, tax returns, ledgers, emails, and digital files.

Then comes the analysis. The forensic accountant checks the quality of the records, identifies gaps or red flags, compares different sources of evidence, and calculates the financial effect.

Finally, the findings are presented in a way that is actually useful. That might be a written report, advice to your legal team, support in negotiations, or expert evidence.

Depending on the matter, you may also need linked support from Cross-Border Accounting & Tax, Specialist Tax, or Digital Bookkeeping where the records involve more than one jurisdiction, complex tax issues, or weak bookkeeping systems. SCC Chartered Accountants offers these as part of its broader UK and Ireland advisory work. 

Signs you should get advice sooner rather than later

You should consider speaking to a forensic accountant if:

• the figures you have been given do not seem credible
• important records are missing or inconsistent
• you suspect hidden income, diverted assets, or manipulated transactions
• you need an independent business valuation
• your solicitor needs a clearer view of the financial evidence
• the potential exposure is large enough that a wrong assumption could cost you thousands of pounds

Early advice can often reduce the overall cost of a dispute because it helps you focus on the real financial issues from the start.

UK, Ireland and Northern Ireland at a glance

UK

• SCC Chartered Accountants markets its forensic services across the UK and Ireland. 
• England and Wales use CPR Part 35 for expert evidence in civil cases.
• England and Wales recorded 4.2 million fraud incidents in the year ending September 2025.
• England and Wales recorded 2,000 company insolvencies in September 2025.

Northern Ireland

• SCC Chartered Accountants has a dedicated Northern Ireland contact point as part of the same wider forensic offering. 
• Northern Ireland insolvency reporting is published separately within UK insolvency commentary, with 28 company insolvencies recorded in September 2025.
• PSNI reported 192 investment fraud reports and losses of £3.68m from April 2024 to April 2025.

Ireland

• SCC Chartered Accountants also has a dedicated Republic of Ireland contact point and presents its forensic team as working across Ireland and the UK. 
• Ireland’s court rules expressly state that an expert’s duty is to assist the court and that this overrides any duty to the paying party.
• An Garda Síochána said provisional H1 2025 figures showed Fraud/Economic Crime up 73% compared with H1 2024.

FAQs

What is the main purpose of a forensic accountant?

The main purpose is to investigate financial matters where there is a dispute, suspicion, claim, or need for independent evidence. They help establish what happened and what the numbers genuinely show.

Is a forensic accountant only used in fraud cases?

No. Fraud is only one area. You may also need one for shareholder disputes, divorce cases involving businesses, loss of profit claims, negligence claims, insolvency matters, valuation work, or expert witness support. SCC Chartered Accountants’ own service page lists all of those areas in one form or another. 

Do forensic accountants only work with large businesses?

No. Smaller owner-managed businesses often need forensic input too, especially where there is a partnership dispute, suspected employee fraud, a valuation issue, or a disagreement with another shareholder.

Can a forensic accountant help before a case reaches court?

Yes. In many cases, early review helps clarify the strengths and weaknesses of a matter before legal costs escalate. It can also support settlement discussions or pre-action strategy. SCC Chartered Accountants’ forensic page expressly refers to pre-action advice in some dispute contexts.

How much can this kind of issue cost if you get it wrong?

That depends on the size of the dispute, but it can easily run into the tens of thousands of pounds or more once lost claims, poor settlements, legal costs, tax exposures, or unrecovered assets are taken into account.

Speak to SCC Chartered Accountants

If you are dealing with a dispute, suspected fraud, a business valuation issue, or financial questions that need more than a routine accounting answer, specialist advice can make a real difference. SCC Chartered Accountants combines Forensics & Investigations with wider support across About Us, Our Team, News & Insights, and Contact Us. If you want a clearer view of the facts and a practical route forward, speak to SCC Chartered Accountants today.