Accountancy qualification and regulation in the negligence context

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When it comes to managing your money using a fully accredited and qualified accountant is the prudent route to financial and legal security. One reason for this is that professional bodies are in place to ensure that accountants are regulated and held to account by their peers and industry bodies in the event that your prudence is rewarded with only poor service.Healys LLP, a solicitors firm with offices in London and Brighton, is here to ensure that you have recourse to compensation in the event that the substandard or negligent actions of an accountant have led to you sustaining financial loss. Contact us today for advice regarding your circumstances and any possible benefits you might gain by taking legal action for the professional negligence of an accountant.

Accountant professional bodies

There is more than one body to which professional accountants in England and Wales can belong. For example, there is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ICCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).Any accountant who belongs to such an organisation is likely to have an acronym at the end of their name - make a web search of this acronym to find out which body the accountant is a member of.Accountants who have no verifiable qualification or regulator should be avoided - not only are they likely to be "cowboys" it may also be extremely difficult to prove professional negligence. Accountants who are unregulated or unqualified are not professionals.Both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales have processes in place for the public to make complaints about the standards of service provided by their respective members.

What if there is financial loss?

In cases of financial loss making a complaint to a professional body or regulator cannot be considered as an alternative to making a professional negligence claim against the accountant.The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants states: "Making a complaint against a member is not a substitute for seeking damages or other redress through the courts. Therefore, whilst ACCA members or firms may be ordered to pay compensation if a complaint against them is found proved, the maximum sum payable is �5,000."For the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales compensation is "a maximum of �50,000 if the investment advice was given on or after 28 August 1988 (or if the claim relates to advice given by a licensed firm, on or after 1 December 2001)." However, there are many limitations to the circumstances under which dissatisfied accountancy clients are eligible for compensation, for example, the firm claimed against "must be insolvent".

Professional negligence lawyers, Healys LLP

If you have incurred significant financial loss as a result of the negligence of an accountant, actuary, auditor, or other financial professional, the lawyers at Healys LLP of London and Brighton may be able to help you secure redress.

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