A. Christine (Chris) Davis is a Bates Testifying Expert and accounting, financial, and economic damages expert in litigation matters and testifies in state and federal courts. She works with attorneys and their clients, businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies.
With 30 years of experience, Chris provides damages calculations, accounting expertise, and expert testimony by deposition and at trial in matters involving commercial damages such as lost profits, complex accounting analyses and the application of accounting and auditing standards, alleged accountant malpractice, valuation methods and estimates, partnership disputes, allegations of accounting and financial fraud, and wage and hour claims. As a highly experienced forensic accountant, she is regularly retained to conduct internal investigations involving accounting and financial reporting matters and alleged financial improprieties. Chris has also been retained as the financial expert in connection with the punitive damages phase of a trial.
Chris is the founder and president of Financial Evidence Group, a CPA Firm focused on litigation support and forensic accounting. Prior to founding Financial Evidence Group, Chris held numerous leadership positions as a partner or managing director at CPA and consulting firms. In addition to being a CPA in California, New York, and the District of Columbia, she is a credentialed forensic accountant (CFF).
Effective in May 2022, Chris was appointed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the premier national association of Certified Public Accountants in the United States with more than 431,000 members in 130 countries and territories, to serve as an active member of the Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) Credential Committee. As one of only nine members in this vital credential Committee, Chris considers this appointment both an honor and a privilege. She is also the Chair for the CFF Credential Committee’s Study Group Task Force.
Earlier in her career, she was a financial statement auditor and tax professional at two CPA firms, including a Big 6 firm. She is a published author and experienced public speaker who has developed and taught CLE programs for Practising Law Institute and Continuing Education of the Bar of California. Chris is also a volunteer resource for the AICPA's forensic and valuation staff by assisting in developing continuing education programs.
Whether testifying as an expert witness, presenting investigative findings, or teaching CLE courses, Chris’s primary goals are to be well-prepared, to inform, and to persuade. She excels at unraveling and explaining, in plain English, complicated financial analyses while efficiently instilling fundamental financial concepts. Having testified numerous times in federal and state courts, she has the frontline experience to successfully communicate her findings with clarity, objectivity, impact, and care.
Financial Evidence Group, A CPA Firm, Founder and President, San Francisco, CA, 2020 - Present
Bates Group LLC, San Francisco, CA, 2020 – Present; Affiliate Expert, 2020 – Present; Managing Director of Forensic Accounting, Economic Damages & Financial Crimes and Member of the Firm, 2020; Director of Forensic Accounting, Economic Damages & Financial Crimes, 2018 – 2019
OnPoint Analytics, Inc., Director of Forensic and Financial Accounting, Emeryville, CA, 2016 - 2018
DZH Phillips LLP, CPAs and Advisors, San Francisco, CA, Director and Partner in Charge of Forensic Accounting and Litigation Consulting, 2013 - 2016
StoneTurn, Managing Director, San Francisco, CA, 2012
Hemming Morse, LLP, Director, Forensic Accounting and Litigation Consulting, San Francisco, CA, 1997 - 2011
Banner Aerospace, Subsidiary Controller, San Francisco Bay Area, CA, 1995 - 1996
Coopers & Lybrand LLP, Auditor and Tax Accountant, San Francisco Bay Area, CA, 1994 - 1995
Burr, Pilger & Mayer, Auditor and Tax Accountant, San Francisco Bay Area, CA, 1993 - 1994
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Accounting, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA] (#257), 2008
Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), AICPA, 2014
Arbitrator Certificate, Bar Association of San Francisco, 2015
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), Member
Practising Law Institute (PLI), Co-Chair and faculty member, Pocket MBA: Finance for Lawyers and Other Professionals, 2018 - 2023
Continuing Education of the Bar of California (CEB), CLE Speaker
Bates Group LLC, Consultant – Team of Independent Industry Experts
NERA Economic Consulting, Affiliated Industry Expert
Upon Request