The engagement determines the type of data that forensic accountants will analyze. The goal is
to ensure that they have adequate support to give an expert opinion in the engagement. Under
the Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 702, expert testimony can be admissible only if it meets the
following criteria:
• The testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data.
• The testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods.
• The principles and methods have been applied reliably to the facts of the case. (Rufus,
et al., 2015)
To ensure that the data is sufficient, the data must be enough and of value to support the
final decision. If there is not enough data, you will not be able to give an informed testimony.
Relevant data in forensic accounting deals with the objectives of the engagements. Relevant
data is connected to the subject that you are discussing. Reliable data is when the data you
obtain is accurate and complete. When you have reliable data, you can make good decisions
from it. If the data is not reliable it effects the integrity of your results.
All these items are needed to give an educated testimony for your engagement. You will not
be able to meet your engagement objectives without sufficient, relevant, and reliable data. c
Rufus, R., Miller, L., Hahn, W. (2015) Forensic Accounting. Pearson Education
