Making a formal complaint about an Accountancy firm - ? Ombudsman

[CheltenhamLady]

We need to make a formal complaint about a large Accountancy practice.

We have exhausted their internal procedures and need an outside regulator.

Who is the most appropriate body? There seem to be a few who oversee, but we would like to go to the one best placed to put pressure on to financially remedy our issue.

Probably the Financial Ombudsman

Who are they registered with? Like ICAEW or ACCA? Should say on their website or headed paper. They will take the complaint.

You can complain to whoever their regulatory body is. As above, it should say on their website.

The Financial Ombudsman doesn't seem to regulate accountants.

Are the bodies mentioned above able to insist firms compensate for losses incurred?

If the firm.are. registered with one of the major institutes, you should have signed a letter of engagement when you first started service with them and, in that letter, there should be a complaints procedure and who to contact.

I am the complaints partner for a large accountancy practice.

Check your engagement letter, it should include the complaints process, alternatively, google their name and “complaints”, it should take you to the regulatory information on their website.

They are probably ICAEW (or ICAS/ICAI) regulated or ACCA, possibly FCA, but depends on the nature of the work being performed.

If you have already exhausted the firm’s own process tell the regulator that, and provide as much detail as you can to the regulator.

When dealing with complaints, I always aim to put the client in the same position they would have been if the problem hadn’t happened, but I usually don’t cover tax that has to be paid.

if you want to message me I can try to help you (hoping it isn’t my firm you are complaining about)

Thank you. What has happened is that two departments were dealing with two aspects of the account and they did not/do not communicate with each other. This resulted in underpaid tax of 4k for two tax years.

We employed them for their professional expertise at a cost of £170 per month during the two years concerned and now we have an 8k bill to pay within a month.

We are waiting to see if they will offer at least the return of fees but if they do not we will complain externally.

Had we employed a small local firm with a sole Accountant this would not have occurred. They are a large firm with many departments.

You should make a complaint to their regulatory body which will be normally be a professional accounting organisation like ICAS, ICAEW, ACCA.
The firms website should tell you which professional body they belong to.

I don't think the bodies can compensate you, you would need a lawyer to sue for damages and prove negligence (the professional
Bodies investigation can determine if they were negligent or not)

Most firms carry professional
Indemnity insurance for this reason.

I should also add that to get a successful claim you must have suffered financial loss.

Like they have you wrong advice which resulted in you paying x amount of extra tax.

I am assuming Your tax liability would have been the same had they calculated it correctly at the time - in which case you are no worse off, it's just getting paid later. If you got interest or penalties then that would of course be financial loss.

Just to update the thread.
The firm refunded us the full fees for the two years involved. We informed them we would take them to court, and they decided to settle.

Pleased for your result.