EWJ FEB 59 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 59
The Expert’s Expert Witness
Predictions for 2025
As we enter 2025, expert witness and forensic accountant Fiona Hotston Moore of FHM
Forensic Accounting explains her predictions for the forensic accounting trends she expects to see
in the next 12 months.
The last couple of years has continued to be a volatile
time both in terms of the economic situation but also
in the political environment – not made any easier by
various conflicts around the world. The re-election of
Donald Trump has created further uncertainty about
the environment that countries and companies will be
operating in. These wider macro factors are layered
onto an increasingly over-stretched legal system in the
English courts.
disputes, matrimonial cases or shareholder disputes.
Early engagement with the expert can ensure the
parties are able to understand the respective positions
and avoid long-running and costly disputes.
I anticipate this welcome trend will continue and
an increasing proportion of our instructions will be
outside a formal court process.
The impact of economic volatility on businesses and
business valuation
Businesses continue to be impacted by a volatile economy and political environment. The reduction in consumer spending has particularly impacted businesses
relying on customers’ discretionary spend such as the
hospitality and entertainment sectors. The recent increase in national insurance costs will make it even
harder to trade profitably in industries such as hospitality, haulage, construction etc. The fortunes of a business can change quickly and we are seeing this in the
analysis of business accounts that we are carrying out
for business valuations. I anticipate we will see a number of already struggling businesses ceasing to trade.
On the other hand, we are seeing a number of startup businesses in certain sectors grow quickly and attract external finance and buyers. Sectors such as
technology, health and those that use technology to
deliver traditional services are seeing significant
demand from customers and external investors.
In 2024 there emerged several common themes to
our instructions and we expect these to develop
further in 2025 and beyond.
Alternative Dispute Resolution including private
hearings.
In the light of the court backlogs - and the inevitable
delays and disruption to cases in the court system - we
have seen a significant increase in instructions where
the parties are choosing to try and resolve disputes
outside the formal court hearing. Increasingly we are
instructed as part of Alternative Dispute Resolution
(“ADR”) to provide an expert report to assist the resolution process. ADR takes various forms from the informal round table negotiation, to mediation,
arbitration or private Family Dispute Resolution
(“FDR”). In my experience, as experts, we have a role
to play in providing parties with independent opinions and assisting a cost-proportionate mechanism to
resolve disputes whether these are commercial
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