Reporting 

The report prepared by a forensic 
accountant may be relied upon in 
Court, provided to the authorities or 
regulators in an investigative situation, 
or otherwise used by the client for 
important, decision making purposes. 
It is safe to say that the accuracy and 
completeness of a forensic accountant’s 
report is one of the most critical steps in 
the engagement. 

An important aspect of any forensic 
report centres on the scope of review 
and there are, in this regard, important 
issues to be addressed. Some of 
the more important data-related 
considerations include:

a) The identification of the documents 

and sources of information relied 
upon;

b) Limitations related to the data 

available;

c) The techniques and procedures  

used to analyze data; and

d) The summary of analysis and resulting 

conclusions from data analysis.

All of these items rest on the rigour 
applied by the forensic accountant 
to understand the data, perform the 
analysis and summarize the results that 
were produced. Legal counsel needs to 
appreciate the limitations, if any, to be 
applied on the report and the underlying 
procedures and analysis.

The forensic accountant, and by 
extension legal counsel, needs to 
truly understand the data analysis 
methodology and analysis performed 
and how these factors impact the 
conclusions reached. For example: 

 

•How was the population of data 

determined?

 

•How can the forensic accountant be 

sure the data was complete?

 

•How can the forensic accountant be 

sure the data was accurate?

 

•What approach was used and what 

is the rationale or basis for using that 
methodology?

Taking the results of the data analysis 
for granted without asking these and 
other questions will have a direct 
impact on the credibility of a report’s 
findings and, ultimately, the utility of 
the report and expert testimony. Legal 
counsel should ensure they have an 
understanding of what their expert did 
to answer the above questions.

Expert testimony

Expert testimony is where all the work 
performed by the forensic accountant 
is truly tested. With any testimony, 
whether it is an investigation or damage 
quantification, where there is reliance 
on data, issues such as how data was 
captured, analyzed and reported on 
may be expected to form part of the 
examination. Counsel and their retained 
expert need to be on the same page 
when it comes to the role data played 
in the engagement and the impact that 
data has on the expert’s findings. 

Depending on the complexity of the 
data issues, there may be a need to 
have a separate expert testify on the 
data-related issues. This can be a 
prudent and appropriate approach in the 
certain circumstances. Recognizing this 
issue early in the process of a mandate 
is critical to ensure that appropriate 
resources are retained.

Conclusion 

Data has clearly become a very 
important consideration in forensic 
accounting engagements today. 
Lawyers, when retaining forensic 
accountants, need to be actively 
involved in how data is impacting the 
engagement and ultimately, the findings 
of their expert. This will help counsel 
in understanding the evidence being 
submitted by their expert and will 
assist with both direct examination of 
their retained expert and in the cross 
examination of opposing experts.

Data Analytics

 

is the collection, 
integration, 
analysis and 
presentation 

of data using 
advanced 
technology 

and statistical 
techniques, for 

the purpose of 

facilitating better 

decision-making. 

Data analytic 

techniques can be 

used to determine 

what data might 

be relevant to 

support and arrive 

at a conclusion, in 

a more effective 

and timely 

manner.

© 2013 KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms 
affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

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At Risk 

 

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Volume 7, No. 1