ABSTRACT At the outset of a litigation case, testifying expert credentials likely carry currency in valuation litigation. Throughout this paper, we consider a mix of education (e.g., bachelor’s degree), a CPA certification, and/or valuations/forensic accounting certification to represent credential currency. The purpose of our study is to address a gap in the literature by examining how forensic accounting expert credentials shape court outcomes in valuation-centered court cases and asking, Does a forensic accounting expert’s credential currency matter in valuation litigation? Our conceptual framework is based on the professional designations and academic achievement of the forensic accounting experts who testify in actual court cases. We segregate the plaintiff’s and defendant’s experts’ credentials into three tranches: one, two, or three credentials, a single, double, or triple, respectively. We find that credentials and education matter in valuation litigation outcomes and signal to courts that experts with relevant credentials and education are reliable. Data Availability: Data are available from the sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M42; K41; G12.
DiGabriele et al. (2026) studied this question.