of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
New Zealand (Member Guilty of an Offence Punishable by Imprisonment)
At a hearing of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand held in public on the 7th day of December 2005, which the member attended and was not represented by counsel, the tribunal found David Norman Arthur, of Auckland, guilty of the following charge and that he admitted the following particular.
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 has been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment and the conviction reflects on his fitness to practice accountancy and/or tends to bring
the profession into disrepute.
Particulars
IN THAT on or about the 3rd day of July 2004, at the
High Court in Auckland, the member was found guilty
of an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 in
that he supplied a Class A drug, methamphetamine, to young people at a party and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years.
Reasons
The tribunal, having considered all the evidence and the requirement for members of the institute to be of good character and reputation, agreed that a criminal conviction does reflect on a member’s fitness to practise as well as tending to bring the profession into disrepute.
Pursuant to Rule 21.52 (b), the tribunal made an order prohibiting publication of the allegations made by the member in the course of his evidence to the tribunal against named individuals and any circumstances which might lead to their identification. The reasons for the non-publication order are to protect individuals who were not present to defend themselves and the allegations were made in relation to matters not before the tribunal as they related to the circumstances of his criminal conviction.
Orders of the Tribunal
(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 David Norman Arthur be removed from the institute’s Register of members.
(b) Pursuant to Rule 21.33 of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal ordered that David Norman Arthur pay to the institute the sum of $1,000.00 (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.
(c) Pursuant to Rule 21.52 (b) of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal made an order prohibiting publication of the allegations made by the member in the course of
his evidence to the tribunal against named individuals and any circumstances which might lead to their identification.
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 of the tribunal 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.
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 14th day of December 2005.
R. J. O. HOARE, Tribunal Chairman.
Important Notice: New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants is the operating name of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand.