'Abusive' accountant row hits court
A Salisbury county court judge this week postponed a court battle between the English ICA and a former member who the institute had fined for sending abusive faxes to his former business partner.
The institute is suing Adrian Thompson for non-payment of fines. But a judge halted proceedings to allow the accountant to prepare his defence, which had been previously disallowed due to late submission.
The summary hearing has been postponed until the first week of October. Dating back to 1997, the case arose from a business dispute, with the accountant’s business partner complaining to the institute that he had been sent abusive faxes by Thompson.
An institute disciplinary tribunal fined Thompson £3,000 and ordered him to pay costs of £1,800.
The tribunal also found him guilty of making false allegations about the complainant as a defence.
An institute tribunal ruled that the manner in which he had defended himself had significantly increased the severity of his misconduct.
Thompson told Accountancy Age that the case had greatly affected him and he was ‘outraged that the institute was spending members’ money on chasing an ex-member and infringing his human rights.
The English ICA did not wish to comment on the case.
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