Anyone can call themselves an accountant even if they’ve had no formal training and don’t belong to a professional body. ICAEW can only help or get involved in your complaint if the accountant is one of our members or is regulated by us.
To check whether your accountant is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, call 0906 614 0906 (UK only) – calls cost 60p per minute – or email membership.admin@icaew.com.
We’re proud of our members and the work they do to help you do business with confidence, but sometimes problems may arise between client and accountant. Most of the time you can resolve issues by talking to your accountant.
Occasionally, however, you may find you're unable to resolve the problem, or that the nature of the issue means that you need to contact ICAEW for help.
- My complaint is about audit work. What should I do?
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If you believe the financial statements of a company do not show a true and fair view, you should refer the matter to the Financial Reporting Review Panel or Company Investigations section of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as they have the powers to review, make recommendations and refer cases to court. Only the courts can determine matters of judgement such as a true and fair view.
If a firm signs an audit report as a registered auditor, it must comply with the regulations of the body with which it is registered under the Companies Act 2006. The firm’s notepaper should show the name of the firm’s registering body. If you’re not sure, consult the register of statutory auditors UK at www.auditregister.org.uk, statutory auditors Ireland or call +44 (0)131 347 0100 to find out which body registers the firm. If you’re unable to resolve your complaint directly with the audit firm and it is registered with ICAEW, please contact us and we will consider whether we can become involved. ICAEW can only deal with audit-related complaints involving the firms it registers.
- My complaint is about insolvency work. What should I do?
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If you are challenging the decisions of an insolvency practitioner (IP), there are procedures under insolvency legislation that you need to follow. The IP acts under statutory rights and powers; only the courts have the power to decide if the IP has exercised them properly. An IP also has to comply with standards set out in the Statements of Insolvency Practice, the Code of Ethics and ICAEW’s insolvency regulations.
If your complaint is that an IP licensed by ICAEW has deviated from one or more of these standards, please contact us and we will consider whether we can become involved. The IP’s notepaper should show the name of the licensing body.
- My complaint is about investment business advice. What should I do?
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Firms offering investment business advice have to be authorised. The current authorising bodies are:
- the Financial Services Authority for what is called mainstream investment business; and
- a number of designated professional bodies (of which ICAEW is one) for non-mainstream investment business.
The firm will give you details of its authorisation or licence in an engagement letter and a legend on the firm's notepaper will show whether it is authorised or licensed. If the firm is authorised by the FSA, have a look at the FSA's complaints-handling arrangements.
If your complaint is that the investment has not achieved the investment performance you expected, then this is not something we can help with. However, if you think the accountant did not act according to the regulations or gave you misleading information when making the sale, please contact us and we will consider whether we can become involved.
You may be entitled to apply for compensation from the Chartered Accountants’ Compensation Scheme Ltd if:
- the investment business advice you were given was inappropriate; and
- it was given after 28 August 1988; and
- it was given by a firm that was previously authorised or licensed by ICAEW and which no longer exists; and
- you have exhausted all other avenues.
Visit icaew.com/cacs or call + 44 (0)1908 546 287.
- My complaint is about another matter. What should I do?
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If your problem is about poor work, service or improper conduct (it might not be related to accountancy work), please contact us on +44 (0)1908 248 250 or email complaints@icaew.com and we will consider whether we can become involved.
- Are there situations when ICAEW can't help?
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If your complaint concerns something that ICAEW can't become involved in, we will explain why.
For example, if your problem relates to a commercial dispute (including the fees you’ve been charged), ICAEW may not be able to help and you may only be able to find a solution through the courts. Although we may be able to deal with certain issues of professional conduct related to the dispute (such as obtaining a breakdown of the bill), only the courts can pass judgement on contract terms. You'll find further information in our leaflet on fee disputes. We also have a fee arbitration scheme.
For complaints that:
- have been made but which ICAEW can't deal with; and
- are commercial disputes,
there's an independent arbitration scheme.
ICAEW can also help you resolve matters through mediation.
If your problem relates to a criminal matter, you should ask the police (or other relevant authority) to investigate it first. Please let us know that you have reported the matter because, if an ICAEW Chartered Accountant is convicted, we may need to take further action. However, we can’t say whether an individual has committed a criminal offence.
- How do I make a complaint to ICAEW?
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If you can’t resolve the problem satisfactorily with the ICAEW member or firm directly, fill in the form at the foot of this page and we’ll see whether we can become involved. If you'd prefer to speak to someone first, call our helpline on +44 (0)1908 248 250.
We may not be able to help if you have nothing to support your allegation, so please send us (with your complaint form) copies of any relevant supporting letters and other documents. If you have a clear idea how your complaint might be resolved, tell us on the form.
- What happens next?
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We will write to let you know we have received your complaint and will pass it to an assessor. If it appears the accountant may have failed to comply with ICAEW standards, guidance or regulations, we will consider the best way to deal with it.
Not all complaints, however, lead to the accountant being disciplined; for example, if the accountant has made a simple mistake. If we can’t help, we will tell you as soon as possible.
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the problem, we may:
- offer conciliation if we think there is something that can be done to resolve your complaint; or
- decide that it would be best to deal with the subject matter of the complaint by investigating it further to see whether ICAEW should discipline the accountant.
You should consider carefully whether you want to:
- resolve the problem (for example, you may just want the accountant to return books and papers); or
- ask ICAEW to consider the disciplinary issues.
- Can my complaint be resolved through conciliation?
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If the assessor believes your complaint might be resolved through conciliation, it does not mean that it is less serious than other complaints. It means that a different approach is more likely to meet your needs.
The conciliator will try to help reach an agreement that is satisfactory to both you and your ICAEW Chartered Accountant. If the accountant is prepared to take the steps you have outlined, or suggests alternatives which you agree with, we will try to resolve the matter without using our formal disciplinary procedures. Although we do not have the power to award compensation, it may nevertheless be possible to agree a financial settlement through conciliation.
If we resolve your complaint through conciliation, we will close the matter and there will be no disciplinary consequences for the accountant. If conciliation does not resolve the problem, we will see whether ICAEW should investigate the matter.
If you would like more information on conciliation, see our booklet, Conciliation – the key to resolving complaints (PDF 233KB/4 pages) or call +44 (0)1908 546 235.
- How will ICAEW investigate the complaint?
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If an assessor believes the complaint should be investigated, we will tell you which aspects of the matter we can deal with and pass the file to a case manager who will look into your complaint in detail. If there are any matters we can’t deal with, we will explain why. We will also tell you if we need further information before we can start investigating.
The case manager will ask for the accountant’s version of events and will usually invite you to comment on their response. At this stage, it helps if you and the accountant make all relevant correspondence available to each other. Our investigation concentrates on whether ICAEW should discipline the accountant.
If you would like more information on how we investigate complaints and can discipline members and firms, see our booklet, How we investigate complaints (PDF 276KB/8 pages) or call +44 (0)1908 546 235.
If your complaint is investigated and the Investigation Committee decides there is no case for the member or firm to answer, it will explain why it came to this conclusion. If you believe the decision is wrong, you can ask for a review. Our helpsheet, The reviewer of complaints (PDF 479KB/4 pages), explains this process.
- FAQs on ICAEW’s disciplinary process
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Answers to questions that ICAEW members and ICAEW member firms ask when they’re the subject of a complaint and answers to the questions complainants ask when they’ve made a complaint about an ICAEW member or member firm.
The chart below sets out ICAEW's complaints handling process.
This is general guidance only. It doesn’t explain ICAEW’s powers and duties. The full details are set out in our bye-laws and regulations. If there is any conflict, ICAEW’s Charter and bye-laws will prevail.
ICAEW’s president and office-holders are not allowed to deal with disciplinary cases or to sit on any of the professional conduct committees.