EWJ August 62 2025 web - Journal - Page 40
opinion, it is helpful to know approximately how
many documents and number of pages I will need to
review.
Ms Fiona Hotston Moore
5. Instructing the expert
It is helpful to provide sufficient notice of when the
expert is likely to receive the instructions and then
allow sufficient time for them to complete the report
including time for any reviews. Sometimes tight deadlines are unavoidable but this may compromise the
opportunity for the expert to discuss their opinion or
to explore alternative scenarios. It may also mean that
the expert must decline the instruction due to
planned absence or other commitments.
Forensic Accountant, Accredited Expert Witness &
Business Valuer, Chartered Accountant & Tax Adviser
6. Contents of the letter of instruction
It is vital that the instructions give a clear understanding of the background to the dispute and the areas on
which the expert is being asked to give an opinion. In
some cases, I will be asked in the letter of instruction
for details of what documentation will be needed. For
business valuations, it is useful to have copies of the
full financial statements including the detailed profit
and loss account for the last three years. I can then
produce a detailed information request and this will
expedite my work.
Family Court. She also has considerable experience in commercial disputes, tax disputes and
BSc (Hons), CTA, FCA, MAE, ACFS
Fiona is a founder of FHM Forensic Accounting. Fiona specialises in
commercial disputes, business valuations, tax disputes and professional negligence matters
including giving evidence in the High Court, Family Court, Arbitration and Tax Tribunal.
She has been instructed as an Expert in approximately 450 cases in her career to date.
Fiona is also often instructed to provide expert opinion on a range of matters including
shareholder disputes, agency disputes and insurance claims, tax disputes (including EBTs, film
schemes, entrepreneurs’ relief and Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), officer and
employee fraud, auditor and tax adviser professional negligence claims.
Fiona specialises in share and business valuation cases with particular experience in the
professional negligence matters.
Fiona has over 25 years’ experience providing strategic, accounting, tax and corporate finance
advice in a variety of sectors. Fiona’s clients have included successful entrepreneurs, start-ups,
international groups and household names
The practical experience that Fiona has as a corporate finance and practicing tax professional
perfectly complements her experience as an expert in commercial disputes in Court
proceedings - and vice versa.
Areas of expertise:
Auditor professional negligence
Share valuation
Commercial disputes
Fraud
Employee fraud
Tax professional negligence
Business valuation
Matrimonial
Financial investigations
Contact
7. Early consultation on commercial disputes
In commercial litigation where the expert is instructed
as Party Expert it is often helpful to the client if the expert is consulted early. The expert can give a view on
the relative strengths of the party’s and the opposition’s respective positions together with the quantum
of the claim under different scenarios. Occasionally we
are consulted late in the process and when the client
has incurred substantial costs. If consulted earlier the
client might have been encouraged to seek a negotiated settlement. The involvement of an expert in mediation can be very helpful in achieving a successful
outcome at mediation.
Mobile: 07770 642491
Email: fiona@fhmforensic.co.uk - Website: www.fhmforensic.co.uk
Area of Work: Nationwide and International
10. Joint reports
Joint reports are the reports produced by the experts
after the joint meeting. At this stage, and once the
agenda for the joint meeting is agreed, the experts need
to act independently of their instructing solicitors. If
communication has been effective before the joint meeting there should be no surprises in the joint report.
11. Shadow experts
Shadow experts can be very useful if you have a
Single Joint Expert. As shadow expert, I am sometimes engaged briefly to give assistance on the questions to be asked of the Single Joint Expert or to give
a second opinion on an expert report where the instructing solicitor or client has concerns. On other occasions I may assist over a number of months at
various stages in a case.
8. Communicating with the expert
In my experience, I can give the best input in cases
where the instructing lawyers communicate well. Regular updates on the progress of the case, prompt acknowledgment of emails/requests and timely reviews
of draft reports make a massive difference. Typically,
the expert is working on several cases at the same time
and the better the communication, the easier it is to
juggle the inevitable clash of case deadlines.
12. Paying the expert and giving feedback
And finally, the expert works very hard on behalf of
the instructing parties. It is really disappointing when
we have to chase up invoices for months after completing our work!
9. Listen to your expert and encourage your client
to take on board their views
The expert is engaged for their expertise and as an
independent voice. It is imperative that the instructing
counsel and client review their report carefully and
raise any comments early in the process and before it
is finalised. If the expert raises any concerns it is important to ensure these are fully considered as early as
possible to avoid embarrassment at a later stage.
It is also appreciated when the instructing solicitor
takes time to give feedback at the end of a case and to
perhaps to provide a reference or introduction to relevant contacts.
Author
Ms Fiona Hotston Moore
Forensic Accountant, Accredited Expert Witness,
Chartered Accountant and Tax Adviser
Founder FHM Forensic Accounting Limited
Mobile: 07770 642491
Email: fiona@fhmforensic.co.uk
Website: www.fhmforensic.co.uk
Experts have their own style of writing and presentation and insisting on stylistic changes are unlikely to
assist the outcome of the case or the humour of the
expert. We are all human and often working to tight
deadlines through no fault of ours, so typos may occur
and we appreciate you flagging these.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
38
AUGUST/SEPT 2025
