Notice Type
General Notices
Notice Title

Disciplinary Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand—Notice of Decision

of the Disciplinary Tribunal (Member Guilty of Misconduct in a Professional Capacity and/or Conduct Unbecoming an Accountant
and/or Breaching the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand and/or Failing to Comply With an Order Made by
the Professional Conduct Committee)
At a hearing of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand held on the 5th day of April 2005, at which the member was in attendance without counsel, it was recorded that Henry Esau Ropati, of Auckland, pleaded guilty to the following charges (2) and (3) and admitted particulars (e) and (f).
Charge (1) was withdrawn by the prosecution and the tribunal found the member guilty of charge (4) and found particulars (a), (b), (c), (d) and (g) to be proven.
Charges
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 is guilty of:
(1) (charge withdrawn);
(2) conduct unbecoming of an accountant; and/or;
(3) breaching the rules of the institute (Rule 21.3 (d)) and/or the institute’s code of ethics; and/or
(4) failing to comply with an order made by the professional conduct committee.
Particulars
IN THAT in his role as a chartered accountant while working for a firm of chartered accountants, the member:
(a) used his employer’s time and resources to service clients that were not his employer’s clients;
(b) promoted his professional services to his ex employer’s clients by making comparisons
with his ex-employer’s practice that were not
based on verifiable fact;
(c) attempted to acquire and/or acquired intellectual property that belonged to his ex-employer’s practice;
(d) improperly used his ex-employer’s firm’s intellectual property;
(e) retained his listing as a tax agent with Inland Revenue while he was employed by the firm of chartered accountants in breach of his obligations to that firm;
(f) offered and/or continued to offer accounting services to the public without holding a certificate of public practice;
(g) failed to appear before the professional conduct committee at his final determination on two occasions despite a requirement to attend and
despite the professional conduct committee rescheduling his final determination to another
date and to a location in Auckland.
Orders of the Tribunal
(a) Pursuant to Rule 21.31 (g) of the Rules of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand,
the disciplinary tribunal ordered that Henry Esau Ropati engage a mentor at his own expense.
(b) Pursuant to Rule 21.31 (k) of the Rules of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand,
the disciplinary tribunal ordered that Henry Esau Ropati be censured.
(c) Pursuant to Rule 21.33 of the Rules of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand,
the disciplinary tribunal ordered that Henry Esau Ropati pay to the institute the sum of $4,000.00 (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 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 Chartered Accountants Journal, the New Zealand Gazette and the New Zealand Herald with mention of the member’s name and locality.
Reasons
The tribunal found that the member had used his employer’s resources to service clients that were not his employer’s clients and that the member acknowledged that he had promoted his professional services to his ex-employer’s clients, and that it was a mistake for him to make such contact.
The member admitted that he had retained his listing as a tax agent while he was employed by a firm of chartered accountants in breach of his obligations to that firm and he also admitted that he offered accounting services to the public without a certificate of public practice.
The member admitted that he failed to appear before the professional conduct committee at his final determination hearing on two occasions.
The tribunal urged the member to seek a certificate of public practice at the earliest possible time and to make alternative arrangements for his existing clients until he has attained
a certificate of public practice.
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 13th day of April 2005.
R. J. O. HOARE, Acting Tribunal Chairman.