Determining the Significance of Bias Factors on Daubert Challenges of Accountants

• In Event: Corporate Governance and Expert Witnesses

Abstract

This study analyzes a sample of expert witnesses with an accounting discipline that were challenged in court under the Daubert/Kumho gatekeeping authority. The purpose of the study is to discover potential bias factors influencing the decision to exclude evidence. The Daubert/Kumho challenge is based on four factors: whether an expert will assist in determining a fact, whether there are sufficient facts for the testimony, whether an appropriate method is used, or whether the expert is qualified. This study is concerned with identifying biases in the Daubert challenges. If a particular witness’s testimony is systematically excluded based on gender, complexity of the case, the witnesses area of expertise or the case’s area of law rather than the four rules under Daubert standard. The study finds that all these variables do not have a significant relationship to the expert’s probability of surviving the challenge. This suggests that judges are immune to a gender, complexity or familiarity bias. These results will be of interest to judges, lawyers and forensic accountants acting as expert witnesses.

Authors

• Madeline Domino, Mercer University

• Matthew Stradiot, John Carroll University

• Mariah Clare Webinger, John Carroll University