Hearings, orders, and decisions

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This page gives information about hearings of ICAEW's Tribunals and Appeal Committees, details of future hearings, reports of the findings and other orders made.

Public hearings

Hearings of panels of the Tribunals Committee and Appeal Committee are normally open to the public, but they can sometimes be held in private. The details of public hearings will be published here seven days before the hearing. These details include:

the name of the member, firm, affiliate, or relevant person, who is subject to the formal allegation(s);
the formal allegation(s); and
the date, time, and place of the hearing.

Members of the press or public who attend a hearing are entitled to hear what is said (unless it is being held in private) but they are not entitled to see written material. All written material and information provided by ICAEW or the subject of the formal allegation(s) in connection with disciplinary proceedings is confidential, including any application to proceed in private.

Decisions from hearings

This section lists a summary of all recent disciplinary decisions (apart from cases found not proved). All these decisions can go to an Appeal Committee upon successful application. Full reports of disciplinary orders and regulatory decisions made in the last 12 months are also available.

Details of future disciplinary and appeals hearings

Name of Respondent:	Mr Gavin Roland Williams FCA, 055074/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Mr Gavin Roland Williams FCA is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a and 4.1b
Date of hearing:	16th September 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contact vanessa.broxham@icaew.com for more details

Name of Respondent:	Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd, 047195/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-laws 5.1a and 5.1b.
Date of hearing:	16 and 17 July 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	IDRC, 1 Paternoster Lane, St Paul’s, London, EC4M 7BQ.

Name of Respondent:	Mr Abdul Faisal, 065591/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Mr Abdul Faisal is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a
Date of hearing:	5 June 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contact diane.waller@icaew.comfor details

Name of Respondent	Mr Andrew Fender, 053369/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Mr Andrew Fender is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1b
Date of hearing:	24 May 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	IDRC, 70 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1EU

Name of Respondent:	Mr Justin Brian Passfield ACA, 050908/MATT
Complaint:	The complaint is that Mr Justin Brian Passfield ACA, is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a and 4.1c
Date of hearing:	21 May 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	IDRC, 70 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1EU

Name of Respondent:	Mrs Julia Mary Manley FCA, 054129/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Mrs Julia Mary Manley FCA is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a
Date of hearing:	14 May 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contactdiane.waller@icaew.comfor details

Name of Respondent:	Mr James O'Sullivan, 061122/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Mr James O'Sullivan is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a
Date of hearing:	26 April 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contact diane.waller@icaew.com for details

Name of Respondent:	Mrs Shezba Khan FCA, 056018/MATT
Complaint:	The complaint is that Mrs Shezba Khan FCA is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a
Date of hearing:	24 April 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contact diane.waller@icaew.com for details

Name of Respondent:	Mr Mehernosh Murzban Motashaw FCA, 068460/MATT
Complaint	The complaint is that Mr Mehernosh Murzban Motashaw is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1c
Date of hearing:	17 April 2024
Time:	14:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contactvanessa.broxham@icaew.comfor more details

Name of Respondent:	Mr Shahid Shafiq ACA - 064725/MATT
Complaint:	The complaint is that Mr Shahid Shafiq ACA is liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a and 2a.i
Date of hearing:	11 April 2024
Time:	10:00
Place:	Remote hearing – please contact diane.waller@icaew.com for details

Summary of decisions

A summary of every decision is made available shortly after each hearing. We will not publish details of cases where the formal allegations are found not proved, or where a decision has been made that the matter should not be published. A full report of decisions is available in the ‘Full reports of disciplinary orders and regulatory decisions’ section.

Tribunals committee tribunal summary of decision

Mr Shahid Shafiq ACA of Bolton, United Kingdom

A tribunal of the Tribunals Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal complaint on 11 April 2024.

Type of Member Member

Terms of complaint

Complaint 1A

Between 7 October 1997 and 17 August 2021, Mr Shahid Shafiq ACA dishonestly signed any or all of the audit reports for ‘A’ Limited as set out in Schedule A on behalf of his firm, ‘B’, when his firm was not registered with ICAEW, or any other Recognised Supervisory Body, for appointment as auditor.

This conduct was dishonest because Mr Shafiq knew he was not entitled to sign any of the audit reports because he knew his firm was not registered with a Recognised Supervisory Body for audit.

And/or

Complaint 1B

Between 7 October 1997 and 17 August 2021, Mr Shahid Shafiq ACA submitted, or caused to be submitted, to Companies House any or all of the audit reports for ‘A’ Limited as set out in Schedule A when his firm, ‘B’, was not registered with ICAEW, or any other Recognised Supervisory Body, for appointment as auditor.

This conduct was in breach of the fundamental principle of Integrity of ICAEW’s Code of Ethics (effective 1 September 1997; 1 September 2006; 1 January 2011 and 1 January 2020) because Mr Shafiq was not being straight forward and honest towards Companies House by holding himself out to be a registered auditor when he knew he was not.

SCHEDULE A

	‘A’ Limited Year-End Financial Statement	Date Audit Report Signed
i	29 February 1998	24 October 1998
ii	28 February 1999	15 December 1999
iii	29 February 2000	25 September 2000
iv	28 February 2001	29 November 2001
v	28 February 2002	29 November 2002
vi	28 February 2003	7 November 2003
vii	29 February 2004	9 July 2004
viii	28 February 2005	27 June 2005
ix	28 February 2006	11 September 2006
x	28 February 2007	11 November 2007
xi	28 February 2008	15 May 2008
xii	28 February 2009	15 July 2009
xiii	28 February 2010	5 October 2010
xiv	28 February 2011	12 October 2011
xv	29 February 2012	11 July 2012
xvi	28 February 2013	21 September 2013
xvii	28 February 2014	1 September 2014
xviii	28 February 2015	1 September 2015
xix	28 February 2016	10 August 2016
xx	28 February 2017	16 September 2017
xxi	28 February 2018	27 July 2018
xxii	28 February 2019	7 June 2019
xxiii	29 February 2020	7 July 2020
xxiv	28 February 2021	17 August 2021

Mr Shafiq is therefore liable to disciplinary action under the following bye-laws with reference to complaint 1A and 1B:

DBL 2(a)(i) of the Members Handbooks 1997 – 1998
DBL 4(1)(a) of the Members Handbooks 1999 – 2001
DBL 4(1)(a) of the Members Handbook 2002 – 2009
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 29 September 2011; 24 July 2013; 1
January 2016)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 3 October 2016)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 11 October 2017)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 15 October 2018)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 14 October 2019)

Complaint 2

Between 21 September 2015 and 12 August 2021, Mr Shahid Shafiq ACA submitted, or caused to be submitted, on behalf of his firm ‘B’ to ICAEW any or all of the annual returns set out in Schedule B, which omitted to disclose that his firm earned fees from audit work.

This conduct was in breach of the fundamental principle of Integrity (effective 1 January 2011 and 1 January 2020) because Mr Shafiq knowingly associated himself with annual returns which were misleading.

SCHEDULE B

	Annual Return Year	Submission Date
i	2015	21 September 2015
ii	2016	4 August 2016
iii	2017	2 October 2017
iv	2018	19 September 2018
v	2019	7 August 2019
vi	2020	6 August 2020
vii	2021	12 August 2021

Mr Shafiq is therefore liable to disciplinary action under the following bye-laws with reference to complaint 2:

DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 24 July 2013; 1 January 2016)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 3 October 2016)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 11 October 2017)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 15 October 2018)
DBL 4.1.a of the Disciplinary Bye-laws (effective 14 October 2019)

Finding: Complaints found proved

Order:
Excluded from membership
Fined £10,000
Costs £9,130

This decision may be subject to appeal

Disciplinary committee tribunal committee tribunal summary of decision

Mr Lawrence Willey of Surbiton, United Kingdom

A Tribunal of the Tribunals Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal complaint on 4 and 5 December 2023 and on 20 March 2024.

Type of Member: Provisional Member

Terms of Allegation

1.a. Between 28 February 2022 and 22 March 2022 Mr Laurence Willey submitted as his record of work done any or all of the timesheets entries to his employer ‘A’ Ltd as set out in Schedule A below.

This conduct was dishonest because Mr Laurence Willey knew he had not undertaken all the work shown on his timesheets submitted.

And / or

b. Between 28 February 2022 and 22 March 2022 Mr Laurence Willey submitted as his record of work done any or all of the timesheets entries to his employer ‘A’ Ltd as set out in Schedule A below.

This conduct lacked integrity because Mr Laurence Willey knew that he had not undertaken all the work shown on the timesheets submitted and therefore they contained information which was materially false and/or misleading, contrary to s111.2 of the Code of Ethics (effective 1 January 2020).

Schedule A

	Date	Client	Activity	Number of minutes
Timesheet 28.02.22 i.	28.02.22	‘B’ Ltd	Updating bank stream in prep for VAT q/e 28 Feb 22	97
iii.	28.02.22	‘ D’ Ltd	VAT bkk	91.4
iv.	28.02.22	‘F’ Ltd	Company acs	52
v	28.02.22	‘J’ Ltd	Updating Excel bkk in prep for QE 28 Feb 2022	52
vi	28.02.22	‘H’	Updating bkk in prep for QE Feb 2022	63
ii	07.03.22	‘J’ Ltd	VAT bookkeeping	91
iv	07.03.22	‘D’ Ltd	VAT bkk – manual entry	55
vi	07.03.22	‘L’ Ltd	VAT bookkeeping update, CC stt, etc	102
iii	14.03.22	‘G’ Ltd	Company accts	146.2
v	14.03.22	‘J’ Ltd	Updating bkk – CC stt, etc and rec	103
Timesheet 21.03.22	21.03.22	'N’ Ltd	Bookkeeping in prep for QE 31st March 2022	21
i.	21.03.22	‘O’ Ltd	Bookkeeping in prep for QE 31st March 2022	78
ii.	21.03.22	‘P’ Ltd	Updating CO accts	55
iii.	21.03.22	‘P’ Ltd	Company acs and ‘W’ emails	102.3

Mr Laurence Willey is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a (effective 14 October 2019).

Finding: Complaint found proved

Order: Provisional member status withdrawn and declared ineligible to re-register for a period of two years. To pay Costs of £26,810

This decision may be subject to appeal.

Disciplinary committee tribunal committee tribunal summary of decision

Mr Mark Andrew Thompson ACA of Warrington, United Kingdom

A tribunal of the Disciplinary Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal complaint on 5 March 2024

Type of Member Member

Terms of complaint

Between 8 December 2016 and 2 April 2018 Mr Mark Thompson ACA failed to record his firm’s procedures for anti-money laundering purposes as required by regulation 20 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and regulation 19 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 in respect of:

Client identity; and/or
Ongoing risk assessments.

Between 8 August 2019 and 19 November 2019, Mr Mark Thompson ACA, failed to cooperate with the Practice Assurance Committee as required by Regulation 8 of the Practice Assurance Regulations as he did not provide the following information requested by the Practice Assurance Committee on 16 July 2019:

‘Confirmation that a documented risk assessment has been completed on all clients as well as verifying client identity’; and / or
‘A copy of a documented risk assessment for an existing client’; and / or
‘Completion of the firm’s 2018 annual return’.

Mr Mark Thompson ACA while engaged in public practice failed to submit the 2018 ICAEW Annual Return for ‘A’ Limited in breach of:

Practice Assurance Regulation 8 between 1 October 2018 and until 30 June 2019; and or
Practice Assurance Regulation 12 between 1 July 2019 and 27 January 2022.

Between 1 October 2019 and 27 January 2022 Mr Mark Thompson ACA while engaged in public practice failed to submit the 2019 Annual Return for ‘A’ Limited in breach of:

A Practice Assurance Regulation 12.

and / or

B Regulation 2.5 of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations.

Between 1 October 2020 and 27 January 2022 Mr Mark Thompson ACA while engaged in public practice failed to submit the 2020 Annual Return for ‘A’ Limited in breach of:

A Practice Assurance Regulation 12.

and /or

B Regulation 2.5 of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations
Mr Mark Andrew Thompson is therefore liable to disciplinary action as follows:
Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1a for complaints 1 and 2 and Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1c for complaints 3, 4 and 5.

Finding: Complaints found proved on own admission

Order: Severely Reprimanded

Fined £7,000

This decision may be subject to appeal

Disciplinary committee tribunal committee tribunal summary of decision

Mr Wai Wing Yip of Kowloon, HONG KONG, United Kingdom

A tribunal of the Disciplinary Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal allegation on 14 February 2024

Type of Member Member

Terms of allegation

Between 7 March 2023 and 22 March 2023, Mr Wai Wing Yip failed to provide the information, explanations and documents requested by letter dated 7 March 2023, issued in accordance with Disciplinary Bye-law 13.1, contrary to Disciplinary Bye-law 13.2.

Therefore, Mr Wai Wing Yip is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1.c

Finding: Allegation found proved

Order: Severely reprimanded

To pay a Fine of £7,500 and Costs of £5,655.

Ordered to provide by no later than 29 February 2024 all the information requested by the PCD in its letter to him dated 7 March 2023.

This decision may be subject to appeal

Disciplinary committee tribunal committee tribunal summary of decision

Mr Anthony William Mills FCA of BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom

A tribunal of the Disciplinary Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal complaint on 29, 30, 31 January and 1 February 2024

Type of Member Member

Terms of Complaint

Between 01 July 2015 and 08 June 2016, Mr Anthony Mills FCA, as sole director and owner of “A’ Ltd, allowed letters to be sent on behalf of ‘A’ Ltd to the Individuals as set out in Schedule B which stated the following:

“If you follow the checklist overleaf and complete the simple forms enclosed, we can
check to ensure that you are obtaining the correct amount of tax relief”; and
“We will ensure that your current year reliefs are correct and that your future
allowances are adjusted in line with the current year to ensure you are no longer being overtaxed. There will be no charge for this service”; and
“We will also check the earlier years you indicate on the form to determine if you
can claim back previously overpaid tax.”

By allowing the above letters to be sent, Mr Mills breached section 110.1 of the Code of Ethics in that he did not deal fairly with the individuals in Schedule B because he knew ‘A’ Ltd would not perform any or all of the above independent verification checks;

and/or

By allowing the above letters to be sent, Mr Mills breached section 110.2(a) of the Code of Ethics in that he knew that the letters sent to the individuals in Schedule B contained materially false statements regarding the checks because he knew ‘A’ Ltd would not perform any or all of the above independent verification checks.

Schedule B:

Name	Date OTR form completed by individual
Miss W	July 2015
Mr C	September 2015
Mrs S	July 2015
Miss A	May 2010

Mr Anthony William Mills is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1.a

Finding: Complaint found proved

Order: Reprimand and ordered to pay costs of £30,000

This decision may be subject to appeal

Disciplinary tribunal summary of decision

Mr Timothy John Vogel [FCA] of Swaffham, United Kingdom

A tribunal of the Disciplinary Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal complaint on 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 January 2024

Type of Member Member

Terms of complaint

Between 2 October 2019 and 1 November 2019, Mr T J Vogel FCA, failed to comply with the Order of the Disciplinary Committee of 1 October 2019 to provide a full response to Paragraph F to PCD, as requested in a letter dated 9 January 2019, within 14 days.

Mr Timothy John Vogel is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary bye-law 4.1d (effective from 15 October 2018 to 13 October 2019 and from 14 October 2019).
Mr T J Vogel FCA, as accountant for ‘A’ Limited (formerly ‘B’ Limited) breached section 110.1 of the Code of Ethics (effective 2011 – 2019) in that he did not deal fairly with both shareholders and directors Mr ‘C’ and Ms ‘D’ in the following:
1. On or before 26 July 2016 Mr Vogel assisted Ms ‘D’ in diverting the trade of ‘A’ Limited to ‘E’ Limited when he knew or should have known that this was to the detriment of Mr ‘C’ who owned 50% of the issued share capital of ‘A’ Limited; and/or
2. On or before 1 July 2017 Mr Vogel accepted instructions to prepare financial statements for ‘A’ Limited solely from Ms ‘D’ when he knew that Mr ‘C’ and Ms ‘D’ were in dispute and failed to take joint instruction; and/or
1. Between 31 July 2017 and 26 September 2017 Mr Vogel failed to provide a copy of ‘A’ Limited’s accounts for the year ended 31 October 2016 to Mr ‘C’ when he knew that as director he was entitled to those accounts; and/or
1. Between 14 February 2018 and 15 November 2018 Mr Vogel furnished Ms ‘D’ with ICAEW’s confidential correspondence on a disciplinary matter to assist her in her response to a court matter relating to Mr ‘C’; and/or
2. On 6 April 2018 and 17 April 2018, Mr Vogel communicated with an expert valuer appointed to act in the dispute between Ms ‘D’ and Mr ‘C’, to make advocacy points on behalf of Ms ‘D’.
Mr Timothy John Vogel is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary bye-law 4.1a (effective bye-laws in force at the time being 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2016, 3 October 2016 to 10 October 2017, 11 October 2017 to 14 October 2018 and 15 October 2018 to 13 October 2019).
In or around August 2016 Mr T J Vogel FCA failed to comply with Regulation 3 of the Clients’ Money Regulations (effective 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2016) as he allowed his firm ‘F’ Limited’s client money bank account to be used to receive money and to make payments which were not client’s money.

Mr Timothy John Vogel is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary bye-law 4.1c (effective 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2016).
On or before 18 April 2018 Mr T J Vogel FCA prepared financial statements for ‘E’ Limited for the period ended 30 June 2017 and on 18 April 2018 approved those accounts as director when he knew they were incorrect because:
1. the accounts prepared and filed at Companies House were for a dormant company when the company had undertaken transactions in the accounting period; and/or
2. the accounts did not reflect the transactions undertaken by the company
  during the accounting period.
This conduct was contrary to s.110.2 of the Code of Ethics (Effective 1 January 2011– 31 December 2019)

Mr Timothy John Vogel is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary bye-law 4.1a (effective 11 October 2017 to 14 October 2018)
On or before 21 July 2017 Mr T J Vogel FCA was responsible for the preparation of the financial statements for ‘A’ Limited (formerly ‘B’ Limited) for the period ended 31 October 2016 including an accountant’s report when they did not comply with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective January 2015) “FRSSE” for the following reasons:
1. The comparative figures for 2015 shown in the 2016 accounts were not the same as the figures shown in the 2015 accounts as required under Part B, section 2.17 and section 2.23 of FRSSE; and/or
1. There was no disclosure note reflecting the restatement of the opening balance of reserves as required by Part B, section 2.15 of FRSSE; and/or
2. The statutory profit and loss disclosure was not in accordance with the requirements of Part B, section 2.9 and 2.10 of FRSSE; and/or
3. There was no disclosure of accounting policies to explain the differences as required by Part B, section 2.7 of FRSSE; and/or
4. The disclosure of ‘Directors’ benefits: advances, credits and guarantees’ required under Part B, section 15.11 and 15.15 of FRSSE were absent when there were overdrawn director’s loan accounts at 31 October 2015 and 31 October 2016.
Mr Timothy John Vogel is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary bye-law 4.1b (effective 3 October 2016 to 10 October 2017).

Mr Timothy John Vogel is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 4.1d in respect of Complaint 1, DBL 4.1a in respect of Complaints 2 and 4, DBL 4.1c in respect of Complaint 3 and DBL 4.1b in respect of complaint 5.

Finding: Complaints found proved

Order: Complaint 1 Severely reprimanded
Complaints 2-5 Excluded from Membership of ICAEW
Pay costs of £55,645

Disciplinary committee tribunal summary of decision

Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd of London, United Kingdom

A tribunal of the Disciplinary Committee made the decision recorded below having heard a formal complaint on 15-17 May 2023

Type of Member Firm

Terms of complaint

Complaint 1

1. Between 24 June 2013 and 27 June 2016, in acting for their client, ‘A’ Limited, Begbies Chettle Agar Limited breached the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care in that Begbies Chettle Agar Limited:

failed to disclose to the directors of ‘A’ Limited that an individual was using ‘A’ Limited’s funds for the purchase of goods and services not associated with the affairs of ‘A’ Limited; and/or
failed to disclose to the directors of ‘A’ Limited that an individual was loaning money to and repaying money from ‘A’ Limited.

Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 5.1ab (effective 29 September 2011 to 23 July 2013, 24 July 2013 2016 to 31 December 2015, and 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2016)

Complaint 2

2. Begbies Chettle Agar Limited prepared incorrect statutory accounts on behalf of ‘A’ Limited:

for the year ended 30 September 2012 in that they did not include related party transaction and/or director’s remuneration disclosures as required by the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (Effective April 2008); and/or
for the year ended 30 September 2013 in that they did not include related party transaction and/or director’s remuneration disclosures as required by the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (Effective April 2008); and/or
for the year ended 30 September 2014 in that they did not include related party transaction and/or director’s remuneration disclosures as required by the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (Effective April 2008); and/or
for the year ended 30 September 2015 in that they included a debtor owing from an individual for £7,932.58 as an outstanding banking.

Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 5.1b (effective 29 September 2011 to 23 July 2013, 24 July 2013 2016 to 31 December 2015, and 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2016)

Complaint 3

3. Begbies Chettle Agar Limited issued accountants’ certificates confirming that annexed service charge statements were sufficiently supported by accounts, receipts, and other documents, and were fair summaries complying with Section 21(5) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, however the firm’s working paper files for the following periods included inadequate evidence of testing to support the certificates:

Service charge account for the year ended 30 September 2012; Accountants’ Certificate dated 24 June 2013; and/or
Service charge account for the year ended 30 September 2014; Accountants’ Certificate dated 17 June 2014; and/or
Service charge account for the year ended 30 September 2015; Accountants’ Certificate dated 27 June 2016.

Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 5.1a (effective 29 September 2011 to 23 July 2013, 24 July 2013 2016 to 31 December 2015, and 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2016)

Complaint 4

4. Contrary to section 210 of the Code of Ethics, between 30 March 2017 and 10 April 2018, Begbies Chettle Agar Limited did not substantively provide all of the information requested by ‘A’ Limited and ‘A’ Limited’s new accountant.

Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 5.1a (effective 29 September 2011 to 23 July 2013, 24 July 2013 2016 to 31 December 2015, and 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2018 2016)

Complaint 5

5. Between 18 October 2017 and 10 April 2018, Begbies Chettle Agar Limited did not provide such details as are reasonable to enable their client to understand the basis on which the fee account has been prepared, contrary to section 240 of the Code of Ethics.

Begbies Chettle Agar Ltd is therefore liable to disciplinary action under Disciplinary Bye-law 5.1a (effective 29 September 2011 to 23 July 2013, 24 July 2013 2016 to 31 December 2015, and 1 January 2016 to 2 October 2018 2016)

Finding: All complaints found proved

Order: Severely reprimanded, fined £20,000 and pay costs of £35,315

This decision may be subject to appeal

Full reports of disciplinary orders and regulatory decisions
This section lists all disciplinary and regulatory decisions published in the last five years. If you have any questions about decisions that are not listed here, please call +44 (0)1908 546 293.

Disciplinary decisions made under ICAEW's bye-laws must be published unless there is a decision by a committee not to do so.

Once a report has been removed from this page, details of cases may still be available on other websites or in search results.

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019

Private hearings

Applying beforehand for a hearing to be held in private

If you think your hearing should be held in private, you must make an application in writing to the Head of Committees and Tribunals. The regulations governing such an application can be found in the Investigation and Disciplinary Regulations.

An application needs to be made within 21 days of service of the documents sent by the Head of Committees and Tribunals further to Regulation 39.2 of the Investigation and Disciplinary Regulations. These are the documents sent once allegations have been referred from the Conduct Committee to the Tribunals Committee.

An application can be made by ICAEW's Conduct Department or by the subject of the formal allegation(s) under regulation 39.1(b) and 39.2(c), as appropriate. If the subject of the formal allegation(s) makes an application under regulation 39.2(c), Conduct Counsel may file a written response to the Head of Committees and Tribunals 7 days before the case management hearing.

The application will be determined by the case management chair at the case management hearing subject to the requirements of the Investigation and Disciplinary Regulations 39.1, 39.2 and 43.1.

Pursuant to regulation 43.2, the case management chair may decide that the press and public shall be excluded from the whole or any part of the final hearing where it appears appropriate to do so in the interests of justice or for any other exceptional reason provided that:

a. the circumstances of the case outweigh the public interest in holding a public hearing; and

b. the case management chair making the decision is satisfied that the parties have had an opportunity to make representations.

The case management chair shall give the parties a summary of reasons for allowing or dismissing any application made under regulation 39.1(b) or 39.2(c). An application can also be made to a panel of the Tribunals Committee at any final hearing, if the applying party can demonstrate that they could not have made the application at the case management hearing, as outlined above.
Applying on the day for a hearing to be held in private
At the final hearing, you may still ask the Tribunals Committee panel whether it is prepared to proceed in private. This would usually be on the first day of a hearing, but the panel can exercise the power to sit in private at any stage, even if none of the parties have asked it to do so; for example, if it is necessary to protect the identity of a third party. However, we can never guarantee anonymity.

When a panel agrees to hold all or part of the hearing in private, it gives its reasons on the day, and in public, unless such reasons as are given, do not, in the opinion of the panel, unreasonably undermine the purpose of proceeding in private. The panel also gives these reasons in writing if the formal allegations are found proved.

The panel has the power to proceed in private by excluding the press or public from the whole or any part of a hearing, whether or not the parties ask it to do so. It can do this at any stage of a hearing. When it decides whether to exclude anyone, the panel considers:
- the interests of justice
- any other special reason or
- the circumstances of the case
The panel will assess whether these factors outweigh the public interest in holding a public hearing. The panel must also be satisfied that both parties have been given an opportunity to make representations.

Disciplinary records search

Search for reports of disciplinary orders and regulatory decisions