29 September 2005 
 
The recent release of the NSW Law Reform Commission's Report on Expert Witnesses has singled out Chartered Accountants as a leading example of how expert witness schemes should operate.  
 
The report, which has occupied the Commission for the past 12 months, considered a proposal that experts be "accredited" by the Courts – a view not shared by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.  
 
Key concerns raised by the Institute, in a submission to the Commission, included that:  
- Accreditation would limit the pool of experts, as many highly qualified experts would be unlikely to seek accreditation;  
- The credibility of a court-based accreditation scheme would be diminished each time a court-accredited expert was subject to adverse judicial comment or where the evidence of a non-accredited expert was preferred; and  
- Implementing an accreditation scheme would overburden the courts with the onerous and resource-intensive task of designing and administering an effective scheme.  
 
Based on the Institute’s submission, the Commission concluded that: "... schemes of discipline accreditation and forensic accreditation established within various professions and disciplines have an important role in enhancing the quality of expert evidence ..." .  
 
In reaching this view, the Commission singled out Chartered Accountants as one professional group with such a scheme. The Institute’s system of accreditation was noted for its high standards in education, practical experience and training, and professional standards and ethics.  
 
Andrew Ross, Chairman of the Institute’s Forensic Accounting Special Interest Group, said he was delighted that the Institute’s views had been taken on board by the Commission and that its system of accreditation had been so highly regarded.