CPR Part 35, experts and assessors
What does a forensic accountant cost?
There is no rate card, and anyone publishing one is guessing. Forensic accounting instructions are normally charged at an hourly rate with a fee estimate given per stage, and the estimate is driven by the volume and quality of the records, how narrowly the questions are framed, and whether the expert is a single joint expert or appointed by one party. In litigation the court itself takes an interest: a party applying for permission to rely on expert evidence must give an estimate of its costs. Tell us about the matter and forensic accountants will quote you.
Rule 35.3
the expert's duty to help the court overrides any obligation to the person instructing or paying them
Rule 35.4(2)
a party applying for permission to call an expert must provide an estimate of the costs of the proposed expert evidence
Rule 35.7
the court may direct that evidence on an issue is given by a single joint expert instructed by the parties together
Three steps
- Set out the matter: what it concerns, how the expert would be appointed, and the state of the records. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to forensic accounting practices that take instructions of that kind, and to no one else.
- They contact you directly with their fee basis and a stage estimate. Compare, instruct, or decline.
Forensic Accountant Cost is an independent site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We are not a firm of accountants and we are not affiliated with any practice, court, regulator or professional body named here. We pass the details you submit to relevant forensic accounting practices, who contact you directly; we may receive a fee from those practices, and you pay nothing for the introduction. Nothing on this site is legal, accounting or tax advice, and no figure here is a quotation. Procedural points are drawn from Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules as published on justice.gov.uk and checked on 14 August 2026; family proceedings are governed by Part 25 of the Family Procedure Rules.
What drives a forensic accountant's fee
Last updated
Forensic accounting is charged for time, so the fee is a function of how many hours the questions require. This table sets out the factors that move that number, why each one moves it, and what to ask for when you take a quote. It is a cost driver breakdown rather than a price list, because the same headline question can be a few days' work or several months' depending entirely on the records behind it.
A breakdown of the factors that determine the cost of a forensic accounting instruction, why each moves the fee, and what to request from a practice before instructing. It is deliberately not a price list: no body sets forensic accountants' fees, rates vary by practice and by the seniority of the person doing the work, and the range between a preliminary view and a fully evidenced report tested in cross-examination is too wide for a single figure to be meaningful. The procedural points cited are from Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules (experts and assessors) as published on justice.gov.uk and checked on 14 August 2026; family proceedings are governed by the equivalent provisions in Part 25 of the Family Procedure Rules. Obtain written fee estimates for your own matter through the form above.
| Factor | Why it moves the fee | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Volume of records | Every transaction reviewed is time. A period of several years across multiple entities and bank accounts is a different exercise from one company year | An estimate expressed per stage, with the assumed volume stated, so it can be revisited if disclosure turns out larger |
| Quality of the records | Reconstructing incomplete or unreliable books is usually more expensive than analysing good ones, because the work has to establish what the figures are before it can address what they mean | A short scoping review of the records before the main estimate is finalised, priced separately |
| How the questions are framed | A tightly drawn list of questions can be answered efficiently. An open instruction to investigate the finances has no natural end and no reliable estimate | Help from the expert in drafting the questions, which experienced practices will usually give before any formal instruction |
| Single joint or party appointed | A single joint expert produces one report for the parties jointly rather than two reports and a meeting of experts. Under CPR rule 35.8(5) the relevant parties are jointly and severally liable for the fees unless the court directs otherwise | Clarity on who pays and in what shares, and whether the court has limited the amount payable under rule 35.8(4) |
| Report, or report and evidence | Preparing a compliant report is one piece of work. Answering written questions under rule 35.6, attending an experts' discussion under rule 35.12 and being cross-examined are further pieces, each with their own cost | A stage estimate that separates the report from any later stages, rather than one figure for everything |
| Court permission and directions | No party may call an expert or put in an expert's report without the court's permission, and rule 35.4(2) requires an estimate of the costs of the proposed expert evidence when permission is sought | The estimate in a form that can go before the court, and early enough to inform the directions sought |
| Urgency | Working to a court deadline displaces other work and compresses review time, which practices price accordingly | The realistic timetable stated alongside the fee, so speed and cost are traded off explicitly rather than discovered later |
- An expert instructed in civil proceedings owes an overriding duty to help the court on matters within their expertise, and CPR rule 35.3(2) provides that this duty overrides any obligation to the person from whom the expert received instructions or by whom they are paid.
- CPR rule 35.4 provides that no party may call an expert or put in evidence an expert's report without the court's permission, and that a party applying for permission must provide an estimate of the costs of the proposed expert evidence.
- Where the court directs a single joint expert under CPR rule 35.7, rule 35.8(5) provides that unless the court otherwise directs the relevant parties are jointly and severally liable for the expert's fees and expenses, and rule 35.8(4) allows the court to limit the amount payable before the expert is instructed.
- Forensic accounting is charged for time rather than by a scale, so the cost is driven by the volume and quality of the records, how narrowly the questions are framed, and whether a report is followed by written questions, an experts' discussion and cross-examination.
Cite this page
“What drives a forensic accountant's fee”, Forensic Accountant Cost, https://forensicaccountantcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). A breakdown of the factors that determine the cost of a forensic accounting instruction, why each moves the fee, and what to request from a practice before instructing. It is deliberately not a price list: no body sets forensic accountants' fees, rates vary by practice and by the seniority of the person doing the work, and the range between a preliminary view and a fully evidenced report tested in cross-examination is too wide for a single figure to be meaningful. The procedural points cited are from Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules (experts and assessors) as published on justice.gov.uk and checked on 14 August 2026; family proceedings are governed by the equivalent provisions in Part 25 of the Family Procedure Rules. Obtain written fee estimates for your own matter through the form above.
Straight answers
How much does a forensic accountant cost in the UK?
There is no published figure and no body sets fees. The work is charged for time, so the cost is driven by the volume and quality of the accounting records, how narrowly the questions are framed, whether the expert is single joint or party appointed, and whether a report is followed by written questions, an experts' discussion and cross-examination. Ask for a staged estimate with the assumptions stated rather than a single number.
Is a forensic accountant on the side of whoever pays them?
No. An expert instructed in civil proceedings owes a duty to help the court on matters within their expertise, and CPR rule 35.3(2) provides that this duty overrides any obligation to the person from whom the expert received instructions or by whom they are paid. An expert who shades a conclusion towards the paying party is failing in the duty that makes the evidence admissible at all.
What is the difference between a forensic accountant and an ordinary accountant?
The subject matter and the audience. A forensic accountant is instructed to answer defined questions for a dispute, tribunal or court, applies the evidential standards those proceedings require, and writes a report intended to be tested by the other side. A general practice accountant prepares accounts and returns and advises the business itself. Many forensic practitioners are also chartered accountants.
Do I need the court's permission before instructing an expert?
For expert evidence in civil proceedings, yes: CPR rule 35.4(1) provides that no party may call an expert or put in evidence an expert's report without permission, and rule 35.4(2) requires an estimate of the costs of the proposed expert evidence when permission is sought. You can take advice from an accountant before that stage, but the report you rely on in proceedings needs permission.
What is a single joint expert and does it cost less?
It is an expert instructed to prepare a report for the court on behalf of two or more parties, defined at CPR rule 35.2(2), and the court may direct one under rule 35.7. It generally costs the dispute less, because the records are analysed once and there is no second report to reconcile. Under rule 35.8(5) the relevant parties are jointly and severally liable for the fees unless the court directs otherwise.
How can I keep the cost of a forensic accounting instruction down?
Frame the questions narrowly and ask the expert to help you frame them, resolve disclosure before the substantive work begins rather than during it, commission a scoping review where the records are unknown, and take a staged estimate so that each further stage is a decision rather than a default. Proportionality to the sum genuinely in dispute is the test the court will apply and it is worth applying it yourself first.
Is this introduction service free to use?
Yes, free to you and with no obligation to instruct anyone. We pass your details only to forensic accounting practices that take instructions of the kind you describe, and they contact you directly. We may receive a fee from those practices, which is how the service is funded.