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David Duffus

Partner HKA

  • Pittsburgh PA

Forensic accounting partner specializing in economic damages, business valuation and complex commercial disputes.

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Biography

David Duffus is a forensic accountant with more than 30 years of experience across multiple industries. He has been retained as an expert on more than 250 occasions.

David has testified as an expert at deposition, trial and in alternative dispute settings more than 125 times. He has acted as an expert for disputed values of up to $275 million and for project values in excess of $300 million. He has also served as an arbitrator or neutral accountant in post-acquisition and valuation-related disputes.

Over the course of his career, David has developed significant experience working with clients to quantify damages in complex commercial disputes, including matters involving claims of intellectual property infringement, breach of contract, tortious interference, product liability, fraud, and breaches of restrictive covenants. He is also frequently called upon to value businesses and related ownership interests in stakeholder disputes, post-acquisition disputes and bankruptcy matters. Beyond his damages and valuation work, David has conducted forensic accounting analyses in connection with financial reporting issues, internal investigations surrounding employee misconduct, stakeholder disputes and project failures.

Since 1992, David has specialized in working on complex litigation services, forensic accounting and valuation services assignments for businesses ranging from start-up entities to Fortune 100 companies. He has worked extensively with counsel through all phases of the litigation process and has provided expert witness and deposition testimony in matters in state and federal court, and in alternative dispute settings.

David is a certified public accountant (CPA) licensed in Pennsylvania and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and the Turnaround Management Association. He acts as an instructor for the AICPA expert witness skills training program and is certified in financial forensics (CFF), a certified fraud examiner (CFE), accredited in business valuation (ABV) and holds a master’s in accounting and finance and a degree in economics and political science.

INDUSTRIES SERVED INCLUDE:
Buildings | Financial Services | Healthcare & Life Sciences | Industrial & Manufacturing | Mining & Metals | Oil & Gas | Real Estate & Tourism | Transportation Infrastructure

Areas of Expertise

Business Valuation
Economic Damages
Environmental
Forensic Accounting
Commercial Litigation
International Arbitration

Highlights

  • Certified Public Accountant licensed in Pennsylvania.
  • Proven as a credible expert witness under cross-examination.
  • More than 250 expert appointments.
  • Widely experienced on complex damage and valuation issues.
  • Deep technical expertise on damage issues.

Professional Recognition

Forbes

- America’s Best-in-State CPAs
- America’s Top CPAs for Valuations

Lexology Index

- Client Choice - Commercial Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Consulting – Financial Advisory and Valuation – Quantum of Damages

Qualifications

  • CPA - Certified Public Accountant
  • CFF - Certified Financial Forensics
  • CFE - Certified Fraud Examiner
  • ABV - Accredited in Business Evaluation

Professional Memberships

AICPA

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

TMA

Turnaround Management Association

PICPA

Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs

Expert Testimony

United States District Court Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, Deposition

Mainsail Parent, LLC d/b/a Aspirion, a Delaware limited liability company, and Specialized Healthcare Partners, LLC, a Florida limited liability company v. David Jewell, an individual, Michael Cameron, an individual, Alisha Mays, an individual, Megan Kelly, an individual and Ternium, LLC a Delaware limited liability company

United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Deposition

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Administrator of the New Jersey Spill and Compensation Fund v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, The Chemours Company, The Chemours Company FC, LLC, Corteva, Inc., DuPont Specialty Products USA, LLC and DuPont de Nemours, Inc.

Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, Trial and Deposition

RL Liquidators, LLC v. First Property Realty Corporation, 221 Richards Boulevard, LLC, 221 Richards Associates, Venture Advisors, LLC Michael Geller Revocable Trust, Joel Frank Trust, and Does 1-100; and Safelite Fulfillment, Inc. v. RL Liquidators, LLC.

Event Appearances

Economic Damages Track

AICPA Expert Witness Skills Workshop  Washington DC

2026-09-14

Education

University of Pittsburgh

MBA

Accounting and Finance

University of Pittsburgh

BA

Economics and Political Science