It was with a question about his professional expertise that Durban businessman Schabir Shaik's legal team started their attack on forensic auditor Johan van der Walt's evidence this morning.

For the past eight days Van der Walt had described his findings, documented in an epic 250-page report, on Shaik's business dealings, the Nkobi group of companies and Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

Advocate Francois van Zyl SC said this morning that the defence considers a number of documents provisionally handed into court to be inadmissible. He indicated, however, that the defence will cross examine Van der Walt on these documents and argue about their admissibility later.

A nonchalant* Van Zyl only paid attention to the pencil he was writing with while asking his first question of Van der Walt, which centred around Van der Walt's career and his experience as a forensic auditor. "In your evidence you came to a conclusion on a number of factual issues, your conclusions are not on accounting issues alone," Van Zyl put it to Van der Walt.

"I explained when I commenced my evidence that I do not only look at debits and credits, but at all the underlying facts and assumptions," Van der Walt responded.

Van Zyl then shifted his focus to the way in which the report was drawn up.

The trial continues.

With acknowledgement to Cape Argus.

* Just so that the credibility of the witness is placed into the record for later use.