Disciplinary Update 2026, Issue 5

Included within the latest published orders are the following:

Tribunals Committee tribunal orders

• Compliance failures

  A member was found to have engaged in public practice without holding the necessary practising certificate, had failed to notify ICAEW members registrar of changes in firm trading status, did not ensure anti-money laundering supervision was in place, and did not maintain required professional indemnity insurance.

• Failure to cooperate with an ICAEW regulatory investigation

  A tribunal considered the case of a member who failed to provide information, explanations and documents requested during a conduct investigation.

• Improper collaboration during professional assessment preparation

  A former provisional member used information obtained from other parties to complete progress and/or mock professional examinations when they should have known that they should not do so.

Tribunals Committee settlement orders

• Unauthorised data transfer

  A member was found to have transferred employer data to a personal email account without authorisation, contrary to professional behaviour standards.

• Criminal conviction for tax offences

  A member was convicted of offences relating to VAT, income tax, and National Insurance, resulting in disciplinary action.

• Use of third-party material in a mock examination

  A provisional member submitted a mock taxation examination containing information obtained from another party when they knew, or should have known, that they should not do so.

• Inappropriate conduct and professional behaviour

  A member engaged in conduct involving inappropriate comments and questions which they knew, or should have known, might discredit the profession.

Appeal Committee panel orders

• Misuse of estate funds in insolvency

  A member acting as a liquidator was found to have misused estate funds by transferring money for a purpose unrelated to the liquidation.

• Misuse of funds within an insolvency appointment

  An appeal related to a tribunal decision concerning the transfer of funds from an insolvency estate for a purpose unrelated to the administration of that estate. The appeal panel upheld the tribunal's decision.

Conduct Committee consent orders

• Audit failures

  A firm was found to have issued audit opinions on three sets of financial statements, when two sets breached accounting standards and the auditor failed to obtain sufficient audit evidence in respect of three account areas on the third set of financial statements.

• Probate work

  A firm failed to ensure that two individuals were authorised to undertake, or control the undertaking of, probate work on behalf of the firm.

• Submission of amended tax returns and accounts

  A member did not maintain the professional knowledge and skill required to ensure that their client received a competent level of service, by failing to submit amended accounts and tax returns for an entity.

• Client approval, tax filing and communication failures

  A member submitted statutory accounts and tax returns without appropriate client authority, failing to meet filing obligations and not adequately communicating the tax liability due. The conduct was found to be inconsistent with the requirements of professional behaviour.

• Breach of confidentiality

  A member failed to comply with the principle of confidentiality by disclosed information relating to unconnected clients to third parties.

• Audit deficiencies

  A firm issued audit reports for multiple entities for more than one financial period when the audits failed to comply with audit evidence and documentation requirements in a number of account areas.

  Another firm failed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence in relation to a number of balances for an audit engagement over two periods.

• Auditor independence

  A member signed audit reports for multiple entities over a period of time without assessing the effectiveness of the available safeguards and applying such safeguards to sufficiently eliminate the threats arising from long association with audit clients.

  A firm breached the audit ethical standards by entering into an agreement with an audit client to provide an employee to work for a temporary period as if they were an employee of that entity.

• Plagiarism in apprenticeship assessment work

  A provisional member submitted apprenticeship assessment work that incorporated another individual's unpublished work without appropriate acknowledgement, when they knew or should have known that they should not do so.

• Regulatory compliance failures

  A member engaged in public practice without a practising certificate and without qualifying professional indemnity insurance. They also failed to notify ICAEW of changes within the required timeframe and failed to ensure their firm was supervised by an appropriate anti-money laundering supervisory authority.

• Sharing answers in professional training

  A member shared answers regarding mandatory internal training with a colleague, when they knew, or should have known, that they should not do so.

Conduct Committee fixed penalty orders

• Regulatory compliance failures

  A member engaged in public practice without qualifying professional indemnity insurance.

  Another member engaged in public practice through two firms either without professional indemnity insurance, or without the minimum level of professional indemnity insurance.

  Another member engaged in public practice without a practising certificate and without professional indemnity insurance. They also failed to notify ICAEW of the formation of a firm within the required timeframe and also failed to ensure their firm was supervised by an appropriate anti-money laundering supervisory authority.

  Another member engaged in public practice without a practising certificate. They also failed to notify ICAEW of the appointment of a new director within the required timeframe.

• Criminal convictions

  Two separate members were convicted of a drink-driving offence.

Key themes

• Unethical conduct, professional behaviour and integrity
• Failure to cooperate with ICAEW investigations
• Examination and assessment misconduct
• Failure to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
• Audit quality deficiencies
• Auditor independence and ethics breaches
• Criminal convictions

Further guidance and resources

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

• Practice resources
• Data protection and privacy
• Support for insolvency practitioners
• Audit Regulations and Guidance
• Practice Assurance Regulations
• Practising certificates
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Anti-money laundering supervision
• 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.