Understanding Company Accounts for Litigators

Course objectives

This course is designed to build on the content of the understanding company accounts foundation course. The course will consider those aspects of financial reporting that are likely to be of most relevance to lawyers working on contentious matters.

Typical content

• UK accounting regulations and the duties imposed on directors and officers. What would be considered acceptable best practice
• Reporting assets and liabilities and how the values may be manipulated to present a more favourable or unfavourable position. How valuable assets could be ‘hidden’ from potential creditors
• The difference between cash flow and profit and how profitable companies can still be trading while insolvent.
• Key areas of uncertainty where management estimation and judgement will be required; summary of current topical issues where there is no clarity as to what is best practice

Typical practical work and case studies

• Revision quiz of material covered on understanding company accounts foundation course
• Case study review of accounts of a company to identify areas of strength, weakness and poor accounting
• Exercises and examples looking at contentious points such as:
  • Asset depreciation and impairment
  • Liability provisions and under and over estimating
  • Presenting finance raised as debt (liability) or equity
  • Allocating costs as either asset or expense

Duration and guideline fee

3 hours – £850

Recommended maximum group size – 30