What Is Forensic Accounting? A Guide for Irish Businesses
Forensic accounting combines accounting, financial analysis and investigative techniques to examine financial disputes, suspected fraud and other complex financial matters. This guide explains how this specialist work is carried out, what a forensic accountant does and when businesses may need specialist support.
When money is in dispute, whether through a partnership breakdown, suspected fraud, a financial loss or figures challenged in court, specialist investigation can help establish what happened. Chartered accountants can examine the records, trace transactions and explain complex financial evidence clearly and independently.
Why chartered status matters here
In forensic work, credibility is everything: a report is only as strong as the professional standing behind it. McManus McCabe is a chartered practice: Teresa McCabe is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and Adrian McManus a Fellow of the ACCA, with a combined 50 years in the profession. That chartered status, and the independence and professional standards it carries, is exactly what a court, a regulator or an opposing party expects of a forensic expert.
What Does a Forensic Accountant Do?
Corporate disputes and financial investigations, shareholder, partnership and commercial disagreements.
Personal disputes including matrimonial and family financial matters.
Investigation of losses or suspected fraud: tracing, quantifying and evidencing.
Litigation support: assisting solicitors and their clients with the financial elements of a case.
Independent expert witness: clear, impartial expert reports and testimony (see our expert witness page).
Alternative Dispute Resolution: financial analysis to support mediation and settlement.
How a Financial Investigation Works
- Scope: we define the question to be answered and the material available, and agree a written proposal.
- Gather: we collect and secure the relevant financial records and data.
- Investigate: we trace transactions, reconstruct records where needed, and analyse the numbers.
- Quantify: we calculate the loss, gain or disputed amount on a defensible basis.
- Report: we set out clear, independent findings; where required, in the form of an expert report for court.
- Support: we assist through mediation, settlement or hearing, including giving evidence as an expert witness.
For a plain-English explanation of the discipline, see 'What does a forensic accountant do?'. For litigation and court work specifically, see our expert witness accounting and litigation support page.
What it costs and how we scope fees
We do not publish a single price because no two engagements are the same; the fee depends on the size and complexity of the business, the records available, and the scope agreed.
After an initial consultation, we issue a written proposal setting out exactly what is included, the timescale and the cost, so there are no surprises.
Where an engagement is likely to run in stages (for example an investigation or a multi-year succession), we scope and price each stage separately.
Discreet and independent
Forensic matters are sensitive. We work confidentially and independently. Our duty in expert work is to the facts and, where relevant, to the court, not to a predetermined answer. That independence is what makes our findings useful: they carry weight precisely because they are objective.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is a forensic accountant?
A forensic accountant investigates financial information for use in disputes, litigation or investigations, tracing transactions, quantifying losses, detecting fraud and giving independent expert findings, including as an expert witness in court. -
Are you chartered forensic accountants?
Yes. McManus McCabe is a chartered practice, a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Fellow of the ACCA, with a combined 50 years' experience, which is exactly the professional standing forensic and expert-witness work requires. -
Can you act as an expert witness?
Yes. We provide independent expert reports and testimony for court and support solicitors throughout litigation. See our dedicated expert witness and litigation support page. -
What does it cost to hire a forensic accountant?
It depends on the complexity of the matter and the records involved. After an initial consultation, we issue a written proposal scoped to your case, and price staged investigations stage by stage.
Talk to Adrian or Teresa
McManus McCabe is a partner-led chartered accountancy practice in Dublin. Every engagement is handled directly by Adrian McManus (FCCA) or Teresa McCabe (FCA, Dip. Tax), not passed down a chain, and scoped with a clear, written proposal before any work begins, so you know what it costs, what you get and how long it takes.
Book a confidential, no-obligation consultation to talk through your situation and receive a written quotation.
