Disciplinary Update 2026, Issue 4

Included within the latest published orders are the following:

Tribunals Committee tribunal orders

• Failure to exercise professional competence and due care in insolvency work

  A member failed to take reasonable care in their handling of employee claims and/or their dealings with ‘G’.

Tribunals Committee settlement orders

• Misdescription of professional status

  An individual described themselves as a Chartered Accountant when they had not completed their application for full membership. The conduct was found to be dishonest, lacking integrity, and in breach of the fundamental principle of professional behaviour.

• Failure to carry out due diligence and engage with regulatory requirements

  An individual failed to undertake reasonable due diligence into the business of ‘A’, did not take reasonable remedial action in a timely manner after identifying issues, and failed to respond appropriately to regulatory correspondence.

Conduct Committee consent orders

• Audit failures and insufficient audit evidence

  A firm issued audit opinions for an entity over multiple periods stating compliance with auditing standards when they failed to design and perform appropriate procedures and obtain sufficient audit evidence in respect of stock.

  AND

  Another firm failed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence for an entity in support of inventory valuation, and for the same entity in the following period also failed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence in support of inventory valuation and the valuation of plant and equipment.

• Compliance breaches

  A member engaged in public practice without holding a practising certificate, failed to ensure that appropriate anti-money laundering supervision was in place, and did not maintain appropriate professional indemnity insurance.

  AND

  Another individual engaged in public practice without holding a practising certificate over multiple periods, failed to maintain appropriate professional indemnity insurance, failed to ensure that appropriate anti-money laundering supervision was in place, and failed to notify the regulator of firm-related changes.

  AND

  Another member engaged in public practice without appropriate professional indemnity insurance and submitted inaccurate regulatory returns stating that cover existed.

  AND

  Another member engaged in public practice without holding a practising certificate, failed to maintain appropriate professional indemnity insurance, failed to ensure that appropriate anti-money laundering supervision was in place, and failed to notify the regulator of required firm information.

• Conviction

  A member was convicted of an offence, which was found to breach the fundamental principle of professional behaviour.

• Anti-money laundering compliance failures and failure to comply with regulatory assurances

  A member failed to implement adequate anti-money laundering systems and controls, including risk assessments, policies, procedures and training. The member also failed to comply with assurances given following a regulatory visit.

Conduct Committee fixed penalty orders

• Compliance breaches

  A member engaged in public practice activities without holding a practising certificate.

• Misuse of professional description and compliance breaches

  A firm used the description ‘Chartered Accountants’ when it was not entitled to do so and submitted inaccurate regulatory returns regarding its status.

  AND

  A firm used the description ‘Chartered Accountants’ when it was not entitled to do so and failed to ensure that appropriate anti-money laundering supervision was in place.

Key themes

• Compliance breaches, namely practising certificate/anti-money laundering supervision/professional indemnity insurance requirements
• Audit evidence breaches
• Audit quality deficiencies, including failure to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence
• Weak oversight and delegation, leading to errors and unverified information being submitted
• Regulatory non-compliance, including unauthorised practice and AML failings
• PII failures and inaccurate reporting of compliance
• Misuse of professional designations
• Anti-money laundering failures
• Failure to engage with regulators or take timely corrective action
• Professional competence breaches in insolvency work

Useful links

Please make use of the following resources to ensure you are up to date with the latest regulatory information and news.

• Regulations Governing the Use of the Description of Chartered Accountants and ICAEW General Affiliates
• What is required of an ICAEW AML-supervised firm
• Audit Regulations and Guidance
• Support for insolvency practitioners
• Professional Indemnity Insurance hub
• Duty to cooperate with investigations: responding promptly and professionally
• ICAEW Ethics hub
• ICAEW’s Regulation hub
• Disciplinary Bye-laws

Further details can be found on our Disciplinary Database or please visit our Public Hearings page.