Professional negligence from an accountant can cause financial harm.
As a client you expect the highest standards from your accountant because they are looking after your finances and any error could cause serious cashflow problems and even ruin reputations – to name just two.
There are four main reasons why damages can be claimed against an accountant. These are:
* Evidence of the accountant having a legally binding duty of care for the claimant must be shown. This is normally the easiest point to establish.
* The accountant must have acted unreasonably enough to be deemed negligent towards their client. Suitable evidence must also be shown that the no other accountant would have acted in a similar way – all things considered.
* The claimant must be able to prove to an accurate enough extent the level of financial cost incurred.
* It must be proved that the loss was a direct result of this negligent behaviour.