Litigation Support Reports
With regard to financial cases, our company provides a very specialized service: the preparation and compilation of annual financial reports for each entity, specifically directed to the court. These reports are prepared for the purpose of determining the financial position of the entity, resolving certain legal disputes, or addressing other financial cases. We always ensure the issuance of high-quality reports with accurate and final details, prepared in coordination with the decision-makers within the entity, in order to contribute to resolving any legal dispute and bringing such cases to a conclusion.
What the service covers
- Preparing accounting expert reports on court appointment or at the request of a party to a dispute.
- Settling accounts between partners on dissolution, exit or winding up.
- Computing contested profits and establishing whether they were in fact earned.
- Valuing a share or a business in acquisition, exit and inheritance disputes.
- Measuring financial loss arising from breach of contract or delay in performance.
- Construction disputes: progress certificates, variations and delay claims.
- Examining expert reports produced by others and preparing technical observations on them.
How this differs from an audit report
An auditor’s report expresses an opinion on the fair presentation of the financial statements as a whole and addresses their users. An expert report answers specific questions set out in the court’s appointment decision or raised by the dispute, addresses the court and the parties, and is subject to the court’s assessment and to challenge by the opposing party.
It is neither a judgment nor a legal opinion. The court holds the authority to adopt the report in whole, in part, or not at all, and the expert’s task is to place before it a documented numerical basis that can be traced and answered.
An observation from practice
Most of what is written about accounting expert reports is written from a legal perspective, while the report itself is a professional accounting product. A weak report usually fails on accounting grounds, not legal ones: an undocumented source for a figure, an undisclosed measurement basis, or a blurred line between what the documents prove and what was estimated.
How we build the report
- The terms of reference as stated in the appointment decision — reproduced verbatim and adhered to. Exceeding them by answering questions that were not asked is among the most common ways a report is weakened.
- Documenting procedures: sessions held, parties in attendance, documents requested and received, and those not provided.
- Scheduling and numbering the documents, identifying the source of each and the party that produced it.
- Stating the accounting basis expressly, and any rate or price used and where it came from.
- Analysis that can be recomputed — so that any party reaches the same result from the same documents.
- An express separation between what the documents establish and what rests on estimate, with the effect of changing assumptions.
The working rule: a report that can be recomputed is a report that is hard to challenge.
What you should prepare
- Contracts, their annexes and any subsequent amendments.
- Books, entries, trial balances and financial statements for the periods in dispute.
- Complete bank statements for the period, not extracts.
- Invoices, receipt and payment vouchers, and progress certificates.
- Correspondence and minutes documenting understandings not captured in the contract.
- Assembly minutes and partner resolutions relating to profits and capital.
Missing documents are not neutral: the expert records what was requested and not provided, and that record carries weight in the court’s assessment.
Related detailed guides
- The accounting expert report before the commercial court — contents and challenges
- Embezzlement and financial fraud reports
Frequently asked questions
Can an expert be engaged before filing a claim?
Yes. Assessing the position before proceedings shows whether the amount claimed can be proven from the available documents, and identifies gaps early.
Do you examine a report submitted by the opposing party?
Yes — examining the accounting basis it rests on and preparing supported technical observations.
Related detailed guides
- Settling accounts between partners in a dispute: how the expert determines profits, withdrawals and each share
- Quantifying financial damages and lost profit: how the expert builds the number
- Construction claims in arbitration and court: delay costs, additional works and termination
- Tracing misappropriated funds: a practical method and the evidence that holds up
- The accounting expert report before the commercial court: contents and grounds of challenge