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When dealing with finance, mistakes by professionals could be costly to both individuals and businesses. The advice that accountants or tax advisors give is critical. There are heavy fines and penalties for those who do not comply with HMRC deadlines or make errors in the figure work. You cannot go round blaming the accountant; it is you, or the business owner, who is responsible and pays the financial penalty.
A professional negligence claim lawyer deals with cases where an accountant has not acted in accordance with the standards set by his/her profession.
Some of the most common examples of accountant negligence in failure to provide a proper service include conducting an audit and failing to detect fraud, incorrect share valuations and negligent tax advice. This is by no means the entire list where the services of a professional negligence claim solicitor are required.
Where the client is running a business the situation may, in addition, have commercial implications. With the value of such claims often being substantial there is much at stake for the accountant if a professional negligence claim is made against them.
Let's look at the particularly large scale example of Ernst & Young, one of the 'big four' accounting firms who, in 2005 were sued 700 million by Equitable Life, a former audit client, after the insurance company almost collapsed. This accountant negligence claim was in fact dropped but would have bankrupted the accountant's UK division if it had succeeded. Small wonder that the profession is so well regulated! Most qualified accountants will fall under one of two professional bodies:
- Certified accountants are monitored by the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA)
- Chartered accountants are regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Both of these have well controlled and structured complaints procedures in the event of a specialist lawyer being consulted by the client who is considering making a claim. According to these regulating bodies members are required to observe proper standards of professional conduct and refrain from 'misconduct' defined by any act likely to bring discredit on themselves, the regulating body or the accountancy profession. Professional negligence claim lawyers are highly trained to deal with these complex cases which need specialist advice.
If you have suffered loss as a result of a negligent accountant or tax consultant, such cases are usually complex and take time to resolve; experienced legal advice from members of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association is recommended.
