Understanding the process

We receive your complaint

As soon as we receive your complaint, we will send you a letter to confirm that we have received it and have passed it to our assessment team.

We assess your complaint

We assess all complaints to see whether the evidence suggests that there is a case to answer; if it doesn’t, we are unable to proceed further. We close about 40 per cent of all cases at this stage.

In particular, we are not able to investigate complaints about levels of fees, although the accountant is expected to provide adequate information concerning the fee – see our booklet, Fee Disputes. However, we operate a voluntary fee arbitration scheme and an independent arbitration scheme.

Disciplinary matters

If the assessor decides there appears to be a case to answer, we will consider how best to deal with it. There are two options depending on the nature of the case. Either:

• we will investigate the matter to see whether the Institute should take disciplinary action against the member or firm; or
• we will offer conciliation if there is something which the member or firm could do to address and resolve your complaint; for example, a complaint about improperly witholding records could be resolved if the firm simply returned them.

Non-disciplinary matters

If a complaint concerns something which is not a breach of the regulations or a departure from guidance, we cannot become involved and, if this is the case, we will tell you why.

Compensation for loss

Although money may be part of a conciliated settlement, the Institute has no power to order a member (or firm) to pay compensation. However, in appropriate cases, the professional conduct committees may order the return of part or all of the fees you paid. This means that, if you want to seek financial redress, you will need to consider whether you should obtain independent advice from a solicitor, for example.

This chart outlines the process.