Taking of accounts (from 1 April 2022)

About the taking of accounts

An account is a specific remedy involving an inquiry made to determine the amount of money that is the subject of a dispute.

The taking of accounts is a process where the court conducts a hearing to determine the monetary amount involved in a dispute. For example, the court can determine how profits are to be shared amongst partners in a company.

This process may involve the examination of financial documents with the aim to allocate to the respective parties their share of the amount concerned. These financial documents may include (but not limited to):

• Bank statements.
• Invoices.
• Payment vouchers.
• Profit and loss statements.
• Business ledgers.

Who may apply

A party who starts a civil action (the claimant) or the party against whom the action is made (the defendant) may ask that an account to be taken. 

What to prepare

If the Court finds that a party is entitled to an account, it will schedule a hearing and give directions for the filing of the relevant documents before the hearing, including:

• The originals of the affidavits of evidence-in-chief of the party’s witnesses.
  • Affidavits verifying the accounts must also be included.
• A bundle of all the documents that the parties will be relying on or referring to during the hearing.
  • Documents that are exhibited to the affidavits of the evidence-in-chief of all witnesses must also be included.
  • All parties should try to agree on the contents of the bundle of documents as far as possible. If the parties cannot agree to the inclusion of certain documents in the bundle of documents, each party will be responsible for filing a separate bundle of documents containing the necessary documents which the party wishes to rely on or refer to.
  • All documents contained in the bundles should have page numbers and arranged chronologically or in some logical order.
  • All parties should ensure the contents and format for all bundles of documents comply with the State Courts Practice Directions 2021 or the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021.

At the hearing

At the hearing, the court may make an order for any amount certified on taking the account to be paid within a specified time.

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