Service
Forensic Accounting
Fixed-fee forensic accounting with a clear scope, practical guidance and ACCA-regulated support.
Forensic accounting investigates financial records to explain what happened, quantify loss and support decisions in disputes, fraud concerns, tax enquiries or litigation. Forensic bookkeeping is the transaction-level reconstruction behind it: tracing payments, rebuilding ledgers and testing the evidence. As a broad UK planning guide, a basic scoped investigation may cost £2,000–£5,000, corporate fraud work £10,000–£50,000 and a complex financial dispute £50,000 or more. The actual fee depends on the records, time period, number of entities and whether expert evidence is required; Countify agrees a fixed fee after reviewing the scope.
Overview
Financial investigations with clear evidence trails
Forensic accounting helps explain what happened inside financial records when the numbers are disputed, incomplete or suspected to be wrong. Countify supports directors, business owners and advisers with structured investigations, forensic bookkeeping, fraud indicators, tax-accounting questions and clear schedules that can be used in decision-making or professional correspondence.
What you get
Forensic accounting vs forensic bookkeeping
Forensic accounting is the wider investigation: defining the question, reviewing evidence, quantifying financial impact and presenting findings clearly. Forensic bookkeeping is the detailed reconstruction work that often sits underneath it. That can mean rebuilding ledgers from bank statements, tracing unexplained transfers, matching invoices to payments or identifying gaps in source records.
Key benefits
Forensic bookkeeping to reconstruct incomplete or disputed records
Financial forensic reviews for fraud concerns and unexplained transactions
Dispute and litigation support schedules prepared with clear assumptions
Tax-accounting analysis where HMRC questions records or disclosures
Practical findings written for directors, advisers and decision-makers
Why choose Countify
Forensic Accounting, done right.
Countify combines accountancy, tax and bookkeeping knowledge with a structured investigation mindset. We focus on evidence, chronology and clear explanations, helping clients understand what the records show, where the gaps are and what further information is needed before decisions are made.
Detail
How much does forensic accounting cost?
Forensic accounting costs vary because the work is scoped around an evidence question rather than a standard set of accounts. As a broad UK planning guide, a basic investigation may cost £2,000–£5,000, a corporate fraud matter £10,000–£50,000 and a complex financial dispute £50,000 or more. These ranges are indicative and are not a Countify quotation. We review the available records and agree a fixed fee for the defined scope before starting.
Record volume and quality: clean digital ledgers take less time than incomplete paper or multi-platform records.
Investigation span: more years, bank accounts, companies or people increase tracing and reconciliation work.
Required output: an internal findings schedule costs less than a formal expert report prepared for litigation.
Deadlines and access: urgent work, missing documents and third-party data requests can increase the fee.
Scope control: a defined question, staged review and agreed evidence cut-off help keep costs proportionate.
Detail
Forensic bookkeeping
Forensic bookkeeping is the foundation of many financial forensic investigations. It takes messy, incomplete or disputed records and rebuilds a usable evidence trail. We may start with bank statements, card processor reports, supplier invoices, payroll records or cloud-accounting exports, then reconcile the transactions and identify what is missing, duplicated, miscoded or unsupported.
Rebuild ledger records from bank statements and source documents.
Trace payments between accounts, directors, suppliers and customers.
Identify duplicate, missing, unusual or unsupported transactions.
Separate bookkeeping errors from matters that need deeper investigation.
Create schedules that show what was tested and what remains unresolved.
Detail
Forensic financial investigations
Financial forensic work starts with a clear question. That might be whether takings were understated, whether expenses were personal or business, whether a director loan account is reliable, or whether a disputed loss calculation is supported. We structure the investigation around evidence, time periods, transaction flows and assumptions so findings are understandable.
Fraud indicator reviews and unexplained transaction analysis.
Director, shareholder or partnership dispute support.
Loss, cash movement and balance reconstruction schedules.
Review of accounting records before professional correspondence.
Plain-English findings with limits and assumptions stated clearly.
Detail
Forensic tax accounting and HMRC evidence
Forensic tax accounting is useful when the tax treatment depends on whether the records can be trusted. We can review income evidence, expense support, VAT trails, payroll records and director transactions before an HMRC response is prepared. The aim is to establish what can be evidenced, what needs correcting and what remains uncertain.
Reconcile declared income to bank and platform records.
Review expense claims against invoices and business purpose.
Prepare evidence packs for advisers handling HMRC correspondence.
Identify gaps before they become enquiry weaknesses.
Explain accounting conclusions without legal overreach.
How we work
Predictable, fixed-fee engagements.
Forensic Accounting starts with a free discovery call. From there, we agree the scope and fixed fee upfront, so there are no surprises on your invoice. Once instructed, we deal directly with the relevant records, authorities and software access needed for this service.
- Step 01
Free discovery call
A 20-minute chat to understand your forensic accounting needs, deadlines, and current records.
- Step 02
Fixed-fee proposal
We confirm the forensic accounting scope and price in writing through an engagement letter.
- Step 03
Onboarding & delivery
We collect the information needed for forensic accounting and keep each agreed deadline visible.
For forensic accounting, we support clients in Glasgow city centre, across Scotland, and throughout the UK via Xero, QuickBooks Online, FreeAgent and secure document sharing. Day-to-day contact is with your named accountant.
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Useful next steps
Related support
for this work.
Forensic accounting is the investigation of financial records to answer a specific question, such as whether money is missing, whether losses can be quantified, or whether records support a disputed position.
Forensic bookkeeping is the detailed reconstruction and testing of transaction records. It can involve rebuilding ledgers, matching bank payments to invoices, tracing transfers and identifying missing evidence.
As a broad UK planning guide, a basic forensic accounting investigation may cost £2,000–£5,000, corporate fraud work £10,000–£50,000 and a complex financial dispute £50,000 or more. These are indicative ranges, not a Countify quote. The final cost depends on the volume and quality of records, the period and entities involved, the questions to answer, deadlines and whether a court-compliant expert report is needed. Countify reviews the scope first and agrees a fixed fee in writing.
A business may need forensic accounting when records are disputed, suspected fraud has arisen, a partner or director needs clarity, HMRC is questioning figures, or financial evidence is needed for a dispute.
Yes. We can prepare schedules, chronologies and financial analysis that help solicitors, directors or advisers understand the accounting position. We do not provide legal advice.
Yes. We can review tax-sensitive records, reconstruct income or expense evidence, identify disclosure gaps and support HMRC enquiry preparation where accounting records need to be explained.
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