Notice Type
General Notices
Notice Title

Disciplinary Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand-Notice of Decision (Member Guilty of Misconduct in a Professional Capacity, Conduct Unbecoming and Breaching

the Code of Ethics)
At a hearing of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand held on the 30th day of July 2003, at which the member attended by teleconference and was represented by counsel, the tribunal recorded that Brett William Knock pleaded guilty to the following charges and admitted the following particulars:
THAT in terms of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand Act 1996 and the Rules made thereunder, and in particular Rule 21.30, the member has been guilty of:
? misconduct in a professional capacity (Particular 2);
? conduct unbecoming an accountant (Particulars 1 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e));
? breach of the institute's Code of Ethics, specifically, Fundamental Principles 1 and 5, and Ethical Guidelines No. 13 and No. 47.
IN THAT
? In the course of practice as a chartered accountant in public practice, the member:
(a) held client funds, totalling $30,000.00, in a trading account for two years when the funds should have been paid to I.R.D.;
(b) failed properly to advise the member's client as to his responsibilities to file annual returns of income;
(c) failed to obtain sufficient and/or additional information from the member's client to enable the completion of taxation returns;
(d) failed properly to respond to requests from I.R.D. for outstanding returns to be dealt with and/or failed to advise the member's client of this matter;
(e) improperly exposed the member's client to I.R.D. interest and penalties which the member subsequently paid on the client's behalf;
? In the course of the final determination hearing before the institute's professional conduct committee and after taking legal advice, the member volunteered that he had misappropriated client funds to the value of a minimum of $300,000.00.
The tribunal found the member guilty as charged and the particulars proven.
Orders of the Tribunal
Following consideration of evidence and submissions for the professional conduct committee and submissions on behalf of the member, the tribunal made the following orders;
(a) Pursuant to Rule 21.31 (a) of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal ordered that the name of Brett William Knock be removed from the institute's Register.
(b) Pursuant to Rule 21.33 of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal ordered that Brett William Knock pay to the institute the sum of $2,782.00 (inclusive of G.S.T.) in respect of the costs and expenses of the hearing before the disciplinary tribunal and the investigation by the professional conduct committee.
In reaching its decision, the tribunal considered that the misconduct described above demonstrated a serious lack of integrity, and that it would not be in the interests of the public nor the profession for the member to remain as a member of the institute.
In accordance with Rule 21.35 of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal directed that the decision be published in the
New Zealand Herald, the New Zealand Gazette and the Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand with mention of the member's name and locality.
Right of Appeal
Pursuant to Rule 21.41 of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, which were in force at the time of the original notice of complaint, the member may, not later than 14 days after the notification of this tribunal to the member of the exercise of its powers, appeal in writing to the appeals council of the institute against the decision.
No decision other than the direction as to publicity shall take effect while the member remains entitled to appeal or while any such appeal by the member awaits determination by the appeals council.
Dated this 31st day of July 2003.
A. N. FRANKHAM, Tribunal Chairman.