Guidance on your duty to report misconduct as an ICAEW member
We expect ICAEW Chartered Accountants to maintain the highest standards of practice and professional conduct. All ICAEW members have a duty to report any event which may indicate that they and/or another member, firm affiliate or relevant person may be liable to disciplinary action to the ICAEW Conduct Department, regardless of the type of organisation you or they work for. The guidance (first issued in 1993) on what and how to report misconduct has recently been updated.
Under Disciplinary Bye-law 6.1, members are obligated to report misconduct – either their own, or of another ICAEW member, provisional member or firm, concerning matters that, if unreported, could adversely affect the reputation of ICAEW or the profession as a whole.
Examples of cases that require a member to make a report include:
- intentionally providing false or misleading information to a principal, employer, senior manager, client or regulator, among others;
- knowingly (or recklessly) breaching AML (Anti-Money Laundering) requirements;
- abusive or intimidating behaviour directed at employees, managers, clients or other third parties;
- harassment, sexual or otherwise;
- being convicted of a criminal offence (minor motoring offences that do not result in disqualification are an exception);
- inappropriate use of social media.
This sample list is a mix of professional and personal misconduct, but longer (non-exhaustive) lists in each category are available in the guidance.
The Guidance on the duty to report misconduct covers:
- A summary of what you need to report to the Conduct Department and when.
- Examples of matters that include issues that relate to ICAEW members’ personal and professional lives.
- Who should make the report if issues arise within your firm.
- What to consider when making a report (eg, client confidentiality, AML obligations and GDPR).
- How to make a confidential report to the Conduct Department and what we can do with anonymous reports.
- Where to access advice or assistance to make a report.
- Guidance on the duty to report misconduct (effective 1 October 2020 to 31 May 2023)
- Submit a misconduct report to ICAEW – please send us this completed form
- The Disciplinary Bye-laws
Updates to the Guidance June 2023
The Guidance has been updated in order to align the terminology with the new disciplinary framework, effective 1 June 2023.