Accountants body proposes new rules, tougher penalties for tax accountants

Amid the PwC Australia probe, a peak accountancy body is proposing a fivefold increase in maximum fines for firms, among a raft of new penalties.

CA Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand chief executive Ainslie van Onselen.

Businesses could face a fivefold increase in maximum fines and dodgy operators could face direct investigation and termination of membership under an array of changes proposed by a peak body for the nation’s financial practitioners.

The proposed conduct framework was released on Wednesday, by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and members of the professional association will meet in October to vote on its adoption.

CA ANZ could adopt a number of new practices to deal with investigations of members and comes as tax accounting professionals face a heightened level of scrutiny thanks to the probe into PwC Australia over the firm’s handling of confidential tax briefings.

The professional code of conduct review was co-ordinated by an 11-member CA ANZ panel jointly run by chair John Palermo and chief executive Ainslie van Onselen.

Ms van Onselen said the review, which was assessed by former Federal Court Justice Dennis Cowdroy, was due after more than five years since CA ANZ’s last major review.

“It was timely to revisit the disciplinary framework to ensure it is robust, and in line with current global best practice and the high expectations we set ourselves,” she said.

“As well as a range of procedural and efficiency improvements, the recommendations extend the existing features of the disciplinary framework to address events involving firms and the systemic and cultural issues underpinning them, that reflect poorly on our profession.”

Ms van Onselen said the actions of “just a few” members of the tax accounting profession had “the potential to cast a shadow over our profession”.

“The committee has recommended a raft of tangible actions such as: a fivefold increase in maximum fines for events involving firms, reinforcing with our members what their ethical and self-disclosure obligations are and enabling former Australian members to be investigated,” she said.

“Significantly increasing maximum fines is a meaningful development for a membership organisation like ours; it shows how we used this process to test the limits of our framework in the public interest and in line with community expectations.”

Ms van Onselen said the committee had run a “comprehensive and thorough process” aimed at keeping CA ANZ’s operating under “a robust and fair framework”.

“We will continue to reinforce the work we do to support our members’ deep knowledge and commitment to the code of ethics, which is a fundamental requirement of their ongoing membership,” she said.

Some recommendations from the CA ANZ committee’s review have already been put into place but others require member approval at the body’s October annual general meeting.

Originally published as Accountants body proposes new rules, tougher penalties for tax accountants