ACCA faces court
Retired association member seeks redress in Europe over discipline for poor conduct, reports Lawrie Holmes.
Retired association member seeks redress in Europe over discipline for poor conduct, reports Lawrie Holmes.
A retired ACCA member wants to take the certifieds’ association to for poor conduct. the European Court of Justice, in the latest stage of a long-running feud.
Ronald Allen, 76, is seeking redress in Europe after ACCA imposed fines on him for allegedly breaking association rules and barred him for non-payment.
ACCA said Allen broke its rules after failing to supply information to accountants of his former clients in October 1995. More charges were added three months later, including that of earning money while retired and paying money into clients’ accounts. Allen denied earning the money, and said the business is being run by his sons who he supervised as part of their professional training. He said a further allegation of failure to plan, control and record audit work was ‘totally unfounded.’
At the time, Allen, who runs the family business CJA Associates in West Sussex, was fined #1,500 and ordered to pay costs of #1,314 by the association. He said: ‘I was unable to pay the fine but I offered ACCA payment out of my life-insurance policy.’
In August 1996, Allen challenged ACCA in court where the judgment went against him. He then petitioned the Lord Chancellor’s office to act as an arbiter, but the Lord Chancellor ruled ACCA is not a charity and the case should be decided in court.
Andrew Harding, ACCA’s head of professional standards, said Allen failed to attend or send any legal representation to an appeal. He added ACCA was taking legal advice from Linklaters & Paines. ‘Allen has a county court summons against him. He is expected to pay fines and costs,’ he said.