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In the past decade, corporate life has become more complex

Indeed,
 The world globalization of markets;
 The rapid and revolutionary changes in the economic environment;
 The developments in technology, in information systems and business practices;
 The transformation of economic structures and financial environments, the growing importance given to analysis criteria and ratios;

often do not allow to assess situations on a single quantitative approach as given by accounts.

Corporate management experts, members of the Association, are professionals in corporate management who have acquired the experience of a court expert and have integrated this into their professional and core competence.
Their intervention is economic rather than technical, providing both a global overview and a detailed analysis.
It is as qualitative as it is quantitative and is often focused on the future, rather than on the past.
The fields of intervention for the court appointed corporate management expert, are as wide ranging as the economic sphere itself.

They include:
1 | An economic expertise by nature of the expertise
Corporate management expertise is, first and foremost, of an economic nature.
The corporate management expert cannot forget the development policies and economic support at regional, national, European and now world levels.
The impact of the macro-economy on a company requires that the company is reposition in the context of its market environment and thus a marketing analysis is required.

2 | An overview approach
The contribution of the court appointed corporate management expert is frequently given in a brief summary or overview. Nevertheless, the expert is often asked for his/her opinion on a specific point. Although in an increasing number of cases, notably those concerning companies in financial difficulties, the corporate management expert has to take into account the interaction of all industrial, economic and social elements.
While the question ashed to the expert may relate to only one aspect of the company’s operations, it would be neither desirable, nor in keeping with the spirit of his mission, if he/she were to take an overly narrow approach.
In certain cases, the synoptic and global nature of the corporate management expert’s contribution can make him/her the project manager for more complex operations and assessments needed by courts.

3 | An approach that is both qualitative and quantitative
As with most technicians and consultants, the corporate management expert usually has to provide supporting evidence for his statements through comprehensive analyses and calculations.
Companies generate large amounts of data everyday; much of this information is accounting data, but there is also data of different nature and sources what is commonly referred to as the corporate information system. The corporate management expert may be appointed to interpret these statistics; some will be economic or financial (i.e; price, production or wage indexes, interest rates, etc.); others will be of a more commercial nature (i.e. changes in quantities produced, the performance of sales networks, market shares). Information relating to the economic environment must also be taken into consideration.
When accounting data is available, the corporate management expert takes them into consideration, either to confirm the consistency of analysis made elsewhere (i.e. a claimed loss of income calculated on an extra-accounting basis must at least be perceived in the form of assumptions in the overall general accounting). It is important to note that the use of calculated data does not represent the only area of corporate management expertise nor its most significant aspect.

4 | The approach of the corporate management expert in the absence of sufficient accounting information
There are at least two cases under which the assessment made by the expert cannot be entirely supported by figures: In the analysis of past events, when not all the necessary data are available;
In his/her opinion of the future trends, because the figures, even when they exist, are tentative and subject to change (case of forecasts and budgets).
He/she therefore, without failing his/her mission, has to give his/her opinion based on a level of certainty and experience even if he/she cannot rely on precise data and suggest to the judge to send the parties again back-to-back.
Thus as the First President of the Supreme Court, Mr Pierre Dray, clearly stated in June 1989, to the members of the Association, in defining the duty of the expert when faced with such a situation:

"Even when he finds it impossible to produce absolutely indisputable evidence, the expert has a duty to assist the Judge in making his decision; he has been called in as a specialist in a profession, and it is in that capacity that he must submit his opinion, as supported by his experience.

Nevertheless, in such a situation, the duty of the expert is to clearly explain, step by step, the path that led him to his conclusions, to enable the Judge to participate in developing the reasoning behind them".

Therefore, it is worth noting that part of the corporate management expertise mission is to deal with elements that are unquantifiable and to be able to form an opinion with consequences that will be quantifiable.

Dynamic company assessment
The same differences appear between the conventional methods of assessing the value of a company or its shares and the dynamic methods reflecting the reality of the concerns of the buyer and seller, as between the accounting and management functions.

In both cases, the dynamic assessment requires the experience of a corporate management expert with the ability to assess the forecasts in terms of market, trends, marketing and commercial actions and the industrial policy of the company.

Assessments of business practices
The corporate management expert is frequently required to give a qualitative opinion on the behavior of people (i.e. Are the companies executives acting as the de facto manager? - Which Managing Director is irresponsible or incompetent? - Has anyone misappropriated corporate assets by being granted an excessive package?)

They are therefore frequently asked to give an assessment on the governance and the professionnal ethics.

Assessments of claims
Corporate management experts are often heard in various courts, to assess economic, commercial and financial prejudices.

The assessment of the loss of earnings is much more than a simple accounting exercise. It requires knowledge and experience in industrial operations and/or the various aspects of a company’s marketing; has there been a loss of output, loss of market share, the brand, the image deterioration, reduced sales…