DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CHARTERED CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS REASONS FOR DECISION In the matter of: Miss Vanessa Coulson Heard on: 30 July 2015 Location: The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 12 Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2LP. Committee: Mrs Lubna Shuja (Chairman), Mr Ian Threadgold (Accountant) and Mr George Tranter (Lay) Legal Adviser: Ms Valerie Charbit Persons present and capacity: Ms Kayleigh Long (Case Presenter on behalf of ACCA) and Ms Poonam Patel (Committee Officer), Miss Coulson (Member) Observers: Ms Ros Wright (ACCA Appointments Board) PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS/SERVICE OF PAPERS 1. The Committee convened to consider two allegations. Allegation 1 was particularised as follows: 1
Allegation 1 It is alleged that Miss Vanessa Coulson, a member of ACCA: (a) Breached Global Practicing Regulations 3 (as applicable in 2011 2014) by conducting public practice as the Accountant for Company A between August 2011 and July 2014 whilst not holding a valid practising certificate authorising her to do so. (b) In light of the facts set out above at Allegation 1(a) Miss Vanessa Coulson is: (i) Guilty of misconduct pursuant to bye-law 8(a)(i); or (ii) Liable to disciplinary action pursuant to bye-law 8(a)(iii). An application was made to withdraw allegation 2. 2. The Committee had before it papers numbering 1-100 and a service bundle numbering 1-41. The Committee received an email from Miss Coulson dated 22 April 2014, pages 101-103 which related to her removal from ACCA s register. Page 104 was a statement of means filled out by Miss Coulson. 3. Miss Coulson attended but was not represented. Application to withdraw allegation 2 4. Miss Long applied to withdraw allegation 2 at the outset. This allegation related to a failure to cooperate fully with the investigation of a complaint. Miss Long did so on the basis that the email supplied by Miss Coulson was so worded that there was no real prospect of proving allegation 2 and it was therefore not in the public interest to have that allegation decided by the Disciplinary Committee. 5. The Committee granted the application to withdraw allegation 2 on the basis of the submissions made by Miss Long and because the email provided by Miss Coulson indicated why Miss Coulson would have been led to believe she was no longer a member of ACCA. She therefore would not have had 2
any obligation to update her address and this also indicated why she would not have received communications from ACCA. BRIEF BACKGROUND 6. Miss Coulson had never held a General Practising Certificate with ACCA. She was engaged by Company A from August 2011 until July 2014. 7. ACCA relied on Miss Coulson s signature appearing on five letters headed Chesters and Co Accountants ( the firm ) between July 2014 and November 2014. The letters showed the firm s name but the signatory was V. Coulson and this was the only name shown at the foot of three letters. 8. Matters were brought to the attention of ACCA by Company A after Miss Coulson wrote in a letter to them dated 30 July 2014 that Given the proposed change of accountants, it is inappropriate for me to submit the amended Accounts to HMRC and Companies House, and this is a matter which should be dealt with by your new accountants. The complaint was made by Company A to ACCA on 16 September 2014 in which it stated that Miss Coulson had prepared their accounts for the years ending 31 July 2012 and 31 July 2013. 9. ACCA further relied on a letter dated 21 November 2014 from Chesters and Co signed by Miss Coulson and sent to Company A s new accountants where Miss Coulson referred to an agreement to prepare accounts from incorporation date and provided details about what the accounts should have shown. 10. ACCA provided further evidence from Company A to support the case that Miss Coulson had acted as an accountant for Company A. 11. A schedule of letters and phonecalls and emails was provided to the Committee in chronological order. 12. Allegation 1 Miss Coulson admitted the facts of allegation 1(a). 3
DECISION ON FACTS/ALLEGATIONS AND REASONS 13. The Committee found allegation 1(a) proved on the basis of Miss Coulson s admission and on the evidence within the bundle. 14. Miss Coulson told the Committee that having taken over a firm with 80 or so clients including Company A, when the practising accountant member retired, she was left as a qualified member of ACCA without a practising certificate. 15. Miss Coulson stated that she had acted on her own from the middle of 2012. Miss Coulson accepted preparing the accounts for 2012 and 2013 for Company A and submitting them. Miss Coulson admitted knowing that she needed a practising certificate and that she had buried her head in the sand. She stated that her clients knew that she had passed all her ACCA exams and that they knew she did not have a practising certificate. 16. The Committee decided that this amounted to misconduct because Miss Coulson was aware that she was practising without a practising certificate. The Committee decided doing so for a lengthy period of time for one client was sufficiently serious. The Committee concluded that by doing so this brought discredit on the member, the firm, ACCA and the accountancy profession. Miss Coulson knew that she should have had a practising certificate but regardless she continued to hold herself out as an accountant and produce accounts in circumstances where reliance was likely to be placed upon them by a third party. 17. The Committee took the view such conduct was also serious because third parties would not have known that Miss Coulson did not have a practising certificate as required by ACCA. 4
18. The Committee therefore found allegation 1(b)(i) proved. Since allegation 1(b)(ii) was in the alternative it was not necessary for the Committee to consider it. SANCTION AND REASONS 19. The Guidance for Disciplinary Sanctions (August 2013) indicates that practising without a practising certificate is aggravated if it has continued over a significant period of time and if the conduct continued after the member became aware of the breach. The conduct is mitigated where the member had rectified their conduct immediately once they were aware of being in breach of ACCA s regulations. 20. The Committee considered the aggravating and mitigating factors in this case. 21. Miss Coulson has no previous disciplinary findings against her. 22. Miss Coulson admitted conducting public practice without a practising certificate from the middle of 2012 and into 2013, she also accepted having prepared two sets of accounts for Company A between August 2011 and July 2014. Miss Coulson told the Committee she intended to regularise the position by giving up her membership of ACCA and hopefully obtaining a practising certificate through the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) but she had not yet regularised her professional position. 23. Miss Coulson told the Committee she complied with professional indemnity insurance, money laundering obligations and employers liability insurance for the firm. Miss Coulson had not used ACCA s logo and had not suggested she was a Chartered Certified Accountant on letters that she had written. The Committee could not identify any harm to Company A within the bundle provided to it. 24. Miss Coulson was remorseful about the fact that she had breached ACCA s regulations but she said she was not able to obtain a practising certificate 5
from ACCA because she had continued to work alone within the firm without any suitable supervisor. She told the Committee that she should have faced up to her responsibilities and cancelled her ACCA membership so that she was not practising without a practising certificate. Miss Coulson was not able to set out any full plan or clear action as to how she would regularise her position and she told the Committee that it was likely she would not be able to continue being a member of ACCA as she was unlikely to meet its criteria for a practising certificate. 25. The Committee questioned Miss Coulson as to how she could regularise her position and comply with ACCA s rules. The Committee was concerned that Miss Coulson currently continued to pose a risk to the reputation of ACCA and the public s confidence in the accountancy profession as a whole because Miss Coulson continues to practise without a practising certificate. 26. The Committee decided that no further action and admonishment were inappropriate where ACCA s Guidance for Disciplinary Sanctions states that practising without a practice certificate is classified as very serious and where it had found misconduct proved. 27. The Committee went on to consider a reprimand. It noted that the misconduct had taken place for over a year and that Miss Coulson had deliberately disregarded her professional obligation to obtain a practising certificate for her practice. Although Miss Coulson had admitted the facts of allegation 1(a) at an early stage the Committee was not persuaded that a reprimand was a proportionate sanction where there remained a risk to the public due to the risk of repetition and where it had found allegation 1(a) and (b) proved, amounting to serious misconduct. 28. The Committee went on to consider whether a severe reprimand was the appropriate and proportionate sanction. The Committee noted that the misconduct was continuing and although Miss Coulson was aware that she breached ACCA regulations and she had a previous good record the likelihood of repetition of the same misconduct was high. Miss Coulson was continuing to work without a practising certificate and she had not taken active steps to regularise her professional position. The Committee accepted that Miss Coulson had been stressed due to the need to terminate 6
the employment of an employee, who later went on to work for Company A, but that person s employment was terminated at the end of 2013 and Miss Coulson still had not regularised her professional position. 29. The Committee accepted the evidence from Miss Coulson that her clients were satisfied with her work. However, taking all the matters into account the Committee decided that the risk of repetition and the continuing risk to the reputation of the profession and ACCA s regulatory framework meant that the only sanction that was appropriate in the circumstances was exclusion from membership in the future. This sanction was necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession and uphold proper standards of conduct. EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDER 30. The Committee decided that the order should take effect from the date of expiry of the appeal period because it was not persuaded there was a risk to the public in the future and therefore it was not in the public interest that the order should have immediate effect. COSTS AND REASONS 31. ACCA applied for costs of 2940. 32. The Committee noted that those costs included the preparation of allegation 2, which was withdrawn. Since the email which Miss Coulson produced dated 22 April 2014 was sent to her by ACCA and this was mentioned by Miss Coulson in her letter answering the allegations on the 11 May 2015, the Committee decided to reduce the costs to be paid by Miss Coulson as this could have been investigated sooner. 33. Miss Coulson stated she accepted that she was required to pay some costs towards these proceedings. 34. It therefore decided to order that Miss Coulson pay costs of 2000. 7
PUBLICITY 35. ACCA regulations require ACCA to publish the Committee s orders and findings as soon as practicable. The relevant person shall be named in such publicity unless in exceptional circumstances the Disciplinary Committee otherwise directs. 36. Miss Coulson invited the Committee to only publish the findings of the Disciplinary Committee on ACCA s website because she was concerned that there would be an adverse effect on the health and recovery of two family members who were seriously unwell if they found out about these proceedings. The Committee decided this was an exceptional circumstance and it saw documentary evidence to support the ill-health of one family member. 37. The Committee therefore ordered that the findings and orders should be published as soon as practicable, only on ACCA s website referring to Miss Coulson by name. The Committee decided that further publication was unnecessary where it had found there was an exceptional circumstance that publication in the local press including the name of Miss Coulson was outweighed by the health interests of third parties. Mrs Lubna Shuja Chairman 30 July 2015 8
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