Chris Makin

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Chris Makin

Chartered Accountant | Accredited Civil Mediator | Accredited Expert Determiner

O

ffering a range of skills and experience that can add value and provide solutions to those affected by legal problems of many kinds, Yorkshire-based, but serving across the UK, chartered accountant Christopher Makin has over two decades’ experience as a forensic accountant and expert witness. He has also built a solid reputation in business valuation and continues to unravel cases which would have otherwise been confined as a lost one.

Chris Makin is a tried and tested forensic accountant and expert witness, mediator, and expert determiner with a solid reputation in his area of work. With 20 years as a general practice chartered accountant, followed by 25 years as a forensic accountant and expert witness, the last 16 of which has also been as a commercial mediator, he is accredited as mediator by Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb); accredited as expert determiner by The Academy of Experts; accredited as forensic accountant and expert witness by ICAEW; and is APIL approved as an expert.

“I started as a general practitioner in Leeds, taking over a very small firm with 2.5 staff growing that over 14 years to 18 staff including four qualified accountants,” says Makin.

After merging with a mid-size practice, he turned to forensic work. “I quickly built a very successful forensic department.”

Today, despite having such a successful career behind him, Makin continues to be an active mediator and expert determiner. Solicitors and others continue to present him with challenging cases where he can help their clients.

Indeed, his experience allows him to handle a vast range of industry cases that span from manufacturing to logistics, from quarrying to farming, and from PR to IT. “A part of my varied industry experience also includes understanding the legal process very well,” says Makin. “My valuation services tend to be called for in three situations: where an owner wants to know what price he should ask when selling his business; Section 994 Companies Act 2006 valuations for (or

Christopher Makin | FCA | FCMI | FAE | QDR | MCIArb

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Chartered Accountant | Accredited Civil Mediator | Accredited Expert Determiner against) the unfairly prejudiced shareholder; and especially, matrimonial valuations where typically the husband is taking the family business out of the marriage on a clean break, the wife is taking the matrimonial home, and a valuation of the business is requires so that assets may be divided equally.”

According to Makin, increasingly for all but the largest divorce cases, the district judge insists on a single joint expert (SJE) valuer who acts for both spouses at the same time.

“I am specially-trained as an SJE and have done many SJE reports,” he says. “When I have done an SJE report, I am rarely, if ever, asked to give evidence as trial because my reports are so comprehensive even though, if necessary, I can give evidence and have done so about 100 times in many types of cases.”

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Makin is used to answering solicitors’ standard questions in divorce such as what is the share value, what are the proprietors’ likely future income levels, what tax would be due if shares were to be transferred, and the scope, if any that exists for withdrawal of cash from the company to aid a clean break.

To illustrate his point and to provide examples of his work in family matters, Makin elaborates: “Often the family company is the largest single asset to be taken out of the marriage by a spouse, and its value can be a large component of the matrimonial balance sheet. And it is seldom for sale, because the spouse who built it will wish, or need, to continue to operate it.”

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Makin has vast experience of valuing family companies as party expert and, increasingly, as SJE, and can advise on tax-efficient ways of withdrawing them from the marriage.

He acted as shadow expert for the wife in a case where the spouses owned a specialist IT company half each. The company was making huge trading losses, but its intellectual property was of great interest to an American company. So the husband was in complex negotiations with the US buyers, whilst Makin was advising the wife’s family lawyers on company sale and purchase, tax planning and other issues in a way which would not spoil the negotiations. An order by consent was achieved, and the sale went through.

“A couple of years later the husband reneged on the deal, and the wife had to sue for the final instalments of the amount due to her. At the hearing, she won,” says Makin.

The case is reported as Wood & Rost [2007] EWHC 1511 Fam, and the first paragraph of the judgment reads: “If Charles Dickens were alive today, the twists and turns of this litigation, conducted at vast expense, would provide him with ample copy for a 21st century sequel to Bleak House.”

Makin is also experienced at locating hidden assets and diverted businesses. “In one case, a husband had an IT company which, as well as selling hardware, provided a range of maintenance, support and training services,” he says.

“I captured a print from his website when all such services were listed. I then inspected the husband’s sales records, and found that regular income from many customers petered out. The husband contended that these services were no longer worth pursuing.

“A few months later, I captured a print from the website of the new girlfriend, who also had an IT company, and found that all the missing services were now listed on her web site. If ever there was a surprise, this was one. The husband had no option but to very quickly reach a generous settlement with his ex-wife.”

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Providing more examples of his relentless pursuit to get justice for his clients, Makin adds: “In another instance, both parties, the husband and the wife, were equal shareholders in two companies.

One company ran a big waste transfer company while the other owned a huge quarry from which road gravel was extracted. The wife’s lawyer proposed that a fair division of assets should start with the husband taking the waste business and the wife taking the quarry.”

For Makin, this seemed as a daft proposal as the question that arouse was where could the husband put his landfill, and how would the wife refill the quarry? In such situation, Makin saw that there was a ‘marriage’ between the two companies, and that they should not be ‘divorced’.

Accredited as an expert determiner (ED), Makin is also on the panel of the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to provide ED services.

“Typically, after sale of a major shareholding in a company there is a dispute about the balance sheet value of that company at the date of sale. Acting rather like an arbitrator, I consider evidence – usually on paper and not at oral hearings – and make a binding decision. My article on this appears on the ICAEW website,” he says.

“In addition, I am also very comfortable with Section 994 disputes and have produced reports and given evidence at a number of such trials.”

“I valued the combined businesses, the husband took them out of the marriage, and a settlement was reached with the wife whereby she took the matrimonial home and other assets to balance. A clean break ,which suited both parties was achieved.”

Makin recalls a particular case where the wife had a rich father who paid for a forensic accountant to value the husband’s businesses.

“The expert’s opinion was a total value of £1million. Application was made to the court for this expert’s report to be admitted, and permission was given provided that the husband could also instruct an expert.”

Makin, acting for the husband, then valued the businesses, which had huge losses and pressing creditors, at £nil. “Shortly afterwards, and whilst the matrimonial proceedings were part heard, the husband was forced to declare himself bankrupt, and all his businesses collapsed.

This was the best possible demonstration that the £1million valuation was hopelessly optimistic.”

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Makin believes his way of working and his record of producing positive results for clients should be enough reasons for clients seeking winning representation in business valuation cases. “I have a structured way of proceeding. I start by gathering evidence and then setting it all out in a lengthy report, which also briefly explains valuation methods and the method I choose to use so that the whole report is selfexplanatory. It is for this reason that I am seldom asked to give evidence on my valuations; the reports give the reader and the judge everything they need to know.”

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Over the past 25 years, Makin has solved several cases of valuations, many of them successful. “I have lost count of how many valuations I have done but it must be at least 200.

The judge normally agrees with my valuation and, of course, some cases settle before court, but unfortunately I have no statistics on that.”

think they can do it cheaply,” he points out. Stating that his fees are modest in relation to some, Makin says he insists on doing a ‘proper job’ of the tasks he undertakes.

years, my big idea was to punish accountants who took on this work without proper training but have a kite mark for those members recognised as serious practitioners.”

“I have turned away work if the fee offered has been too low for the skill needed.”

Makin’s efforts led to the accreditation scheme for forensic accountants and expert witnesses run in tandem with The Academy of Experts. Only some 100 of the 140,000 English chartered have reached this kite mark standard. So those who wish to appoint a chartered accountant who they are confident can do the job properly should look at the approved list at ICAEW or TAE – or at the wealth of information on Makin’s own site.

The only challenging aspect of his business that Makin can think about is to do with ‘rank amateurs who think they can do the job, and cheaply’.

He says he still comes across accountants who try to be expert witnesses, get to court, and then do not have an idea on how to conduct themselves when giving expert evidence.

“This is a highly-specialised service, not something for chartered accountants and others who think it would be ‘sexy’ to do a bit of this valuation jaunt between auditing or doing tax returns. And what’s more, they

“In fact, I was so concerned about this issue, of wannabees who were at risk of offending justice and ruining the reputation of my institute, that when I served on the forensic committee of ICAEW for 14

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Chris Makin Chartered Accountant | Accredited Civil Mediator | Accredited Expert Determiner

Chris Makin is a chartered accountant with a vast range of experience, firstly as a general practitioner and then for well over 20 years as a forensic accountant and expert witness. Previously National Head of Litigation Support in a national firm, he now practises mainly as a commercial mediator, with expert determinations and forensic assignments for good measure.

Civil and criminal experience as expert for over 20 years in: • • • • • • • •

Loss of Profit and Consequential Loss Business & Share Valuations Matrimonial Valuations Partnership & Director Disputes Professional Negligence Criminal & Commercial Fraud Investigations Personal Injury & Fatal Accident Drug Trafficking etc. Asset Tracing & Confiscation • Section 994 Disputes • Director Disqualification • Expert Determinations

Mediated disputes in: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Partnerships Share Valuations Company Sale & Purchase Professional Fees Rights of Way & Boundaries Construction Intellectual Property Professional Negligence Business Interruption Defamation Housing Disrepair Very Expensive Motor Cars Employment Contractual Failings Inheritance Act and ToLATAs

Christopher Makin | FCA | FCMI | FAE | QDR | MCIArb

Call for a FREE initial discussion without obligation Telephone: 01924 495888 or 07887 660072 Website: www.chrismakin.co.uk

Chris Makin Christopher Makin | FCA | FCMI | FAE | QDR | MCIArb

Call for a FREE initial discussion without obligation Telephone: 01924 495888 or 07887 660072 Website: www.chrismakin.co.uk