At a hearing of the disciplinary tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand held in public on
29 March 2007, at which the member was in attendance and
not represented by counsel, Paul Andrews, a provisional member of Nelson, admitted the following particulars (a), (b) and (c) and pleaded guilty to the following charges (1), (2), (3) and (4).
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) misconduct in a professional capacity; and/or
(2) conduct unbecoming an accountant; and/or
(3) breaching the Rules or the Code of Ethics (particularly Rule 18.2 and 19.2); and/or
(4) failing to comply with an order made by the professional conduct committee.
Particulars
IN THAT:
Being a provisional member of the institute and in relation to a complaint, the member:
(a) was at all material times offering accounting services to the public without holding a certificate of public practice, in breach of Rule 18.2; and/or
(b) was at all material times a director and shareholder of Andrews Brydon Limited, a company which offers accounting services to the public without the consent of council, in breach of Rule 19.2(c); and/or
(c) failed to attend a final determination with the professional conduct committee on 25 October 2006 that he was required to attend in accordance with Rule 21.3(d).
Reasons
Paul Andrews is a provisional member who has been offering accounting services through a company of which he was a director and shareholder when he was not entitled to. Members of the public could believe that the member is a chartered accountant holding a certificate of public practice. The tribunal ordered that Paul Andrews be suspended from membership as it is necessary to protect the interests of
the public.
Orders of the Tribunal
(a) Pursuant to Rule 21.31(b) of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal ordered that Paul Andrews be suspended from membership of the institute until 10 November 2009.
(b) Pursuant to Rule 21.33 of the Rules of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand, the disciplinary tribunal ordered that Paul Andrews pay to the institute the sum of $5,191.00 (inclusive
of GST) 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 of the disciplinary tribunal be published in the Chartered Accountants Journal, the
New Zealand Gazette, the Nelson Mail, and on the institute’s website with mention of the member’s name and locality.
The publicity in the Chartered Accountants Journal, the New Zealand Gazette and the website will be the full version of the notice of decision, and the version in the Nelson Mail will be the abbreviated version of the notice with reference to the full decision being on the institute’s website.
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 4th day of April 2007.
R. J. O’HOARE, Chairman, Disciplinary Tribunal.