CPA sanctioned for failure to investigate complaint

CPA Ireland first received a complaint against a member on 15 May 2018, it returned the complaint form to the complainant on 17 May 2018.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) in Ireland has been sanctioned by the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) due to a failure to act in accordance with its bye-laws and investigate a complaint against one of its members.

CPA Ireland has been fined €15,000 due to the breaches of its bye-laws.

The professional body admitted to the infraction.

The failure to follow its own procedures following a complaint allowed the member to resign from membership consequently an investigation could not be pursued.

In a statement, the IAASA said: "The non-compliance with the bye-laws was a serious procedural irregularity and undermined public confidence in the disciplinary process."

"The Authority considered that the non-compliance, in this case, was so serious that to advise or admonish would not be appropriate or proportionate," it added.

CPA Ireland first received a complaint against a member on 15 May 2018, it returned the complaint form to the complainant on 17 May 2018.

Further information regarding the complaint was sent to CPA Ireland on 22 May 2018 from a firm of solicitors in support of the original complaint. 

CPA Ireland wrote to the complainant confirming receipt of the letter from the solicitor and it informed the complainant that: “the letter does not contain sufficient evidence to allow us to commence an investigation…”.

Ten months later, on 22 March 2019, CPA Ireland received further correspondence from the complainant regarding the member. That correspondence attached a detailed published news article about the matters referred to in the complaint. The article referred to the fact that the member had been dismissed from his employment for the reasons stated in the complaint and that there was a High Court civil action being brought by the former employer against the member and that the matter was subject to a Garda investigation. 

The complaint was still not investigated by CPA Ireland. The member resigned from membership of CPA Ireland on 2 April 2019. At the relevant time, CPA Ireland’s regulations did not permit an investigation to proceed once a member ceased to be a member of CPA Ireland. CPA Ireland wrote to the complainant stating that it could not consider the complaint as the member had resigned.

In response to the sanction, CPA Ireland said: "CPA Ireland accepts the findings of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) and has agreed to a censure in relation to the handling of a complaint, first made in 2018, by a member of the public concerning one of the Institute’s members.

"CPA Ireland members are expected to act to the highest standards and are bound by a Code of Ethics. The Institute acts promptly on any complaint made against a CPA member and is disappointed that IAASA found that it did not do so on this occasion.

"The Institute took action, amending its constitution in April 2021, to rectify a weakness in its disciplinary process identified by IAASA whereby a member could resign prior to the commencement of a disciplinary process but following a complaint being made against them. This is no longer possible," it added.