INTHEBLACK July/August 2023 - Magazine - Page 21
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
The Accounting Professional and Ethical
Standards Board has proposed revisions to
APES 215 Forensic Accounting Services, to:
•
Amend definitions, such as “lay
witness service”, in accordance
with stakeholder feedback
•
Ensure its compliance with the new
quality management standards
from the International Auditing and
Assurance Standards Board
•
Acknowledge the role of recent and
emerging technologies, such as data
analytics, artificial intelligence, autonomous
and intelligent systems, cloud services,
robotic process automation, cybersecurity,
blockchain and the Internet of Things
APES 215 defines an “expert witness”
as “a member who has been engaged,
assigned or other otherwise obligated
to provide an expert witness service”.
It also states:
“As an Expert Witness, the Member may
express opinions or provide Other Evidence
to the Court based on the Member’s
specialised knowledge derived from the
Member’s training, study or experience
on matters such as whether technical or
Professional Standards have been breached,
the amount of damages, the amount of
an account of profits, or the amount of
a claim under an insurance policy.”
Elizabeth Giust FCPA, managing director
of Qualitas Consultants, says the proposed
amendments to APES 215 aim to “modernise
and clarify definitions and make them easier
to interpret”.
“There’s also a new reference to
technology,” Giust says. “APES 215
certainly doesn’t discourage the use of
data analytics and AI for forensic
accounting and expert witnesses, but you
still need to be clear on how conclusions
have been reached.”
