CMA Alberta member sanctions

REFERENCE: Discipline Tribunal Decision regarding Mr. Anwar Deen, CMA

FACTS: The member is registered in public practice through a professional corporation which he owns.

The Discipline Tribunal determined the following: That the member was a director of a corporation which was owned by his wife. This corporation lent funds to a client of Mr. Deen’s (NWH Ltd.) at the same time that Mr. Deen was providing accounting, tax and other financial services to that client. Mr. Deen failed to inform his client that he was in a conflict of interest position during the time that he was both acting for this client and lending money to the client through his wife’s corporation.

This Discipline Tribunal also determined these additional facts: At no time was Mr. Deen an officer or director of NWH Ltd.; a fact he was fully aware of. Mr. Deen signed a banking services agreement with a bank representing himself as an officer of NWH Ltd. This agreement established Mr. Deen as one of three signing authorities for a NWH Ltd. bank account and further required that two of the three signing authorities authorize all banking transactions conducted on behalf of this entity. On July 16, 2007 Mr. Deen sent a letter to the bank instructing them to close out the NWH Ltd. bank account by placing the remaining funds into a bank account owned by another corporate entity. This letter of instruction only contained Mr. Deen’s signature.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: The member was found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Article IV (specifically Rules IVR-1 and IVR-2) of the Code of Ethics by placing himself in a conflict of interest position, as his relationship with his wife could reasonably be expected to adversely affect his independence in providing accounting, tax and other financial services for his client and as he did not keep himself free of any influence, interest or relationship in respect of his affairs which could reasonably be expected to impair his professional judgment or objectivity, or could otherwise affect his independence or the quality of the services he provided to his client.

The Member was also found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Article II (specifically Rule IIR-2) of the Code of Ethics in that he misrepresented the actual situation involving the banking services agreement, as he was aware that he was not an officer of NWH Ltd. and he was also aware that the signatures of two signing authorities were required to transfer funds form the NWH Ltd. bank account.

SANCTIONS:
1) Mr. Anwar Deen was required to pay a fine in the amount of $5,000 within six months of his receipt of the decision.
2) Mr. Anwar Deen was also required to attend the course “Stay Out of Trouble: Professional Responsibilities” within six months of receipt of this decision.

PUBLICATION: Publication of this finding of unprofessional conduct was to be placed on the CMA Alberta website and in the CMA Connects Magazine.

REFERENCE: Discipline Tribunal decision regarding Mr. Darrell Hoffman, CMA

FACTS: The member agreed to a Sanction Agreement on January 12, 2010. One of the sanctions from this hearing involved notice to his employer of the suspension of his membership in CMA Alberta. Mr. Hoffman indicated to the Sanction Agreement Panel that his employer was HD, when in fact he was also employed by A.

Mr. Hoffman did not respond to correspondence from CMA Alberta regarding this matter within the required time frame.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: The member was found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Article IP-3 and Rule IIR-1 of the Code of Professional Conduct in that he misrepresented the facts concerning his employment to the Sanction Agreement Panel.

The member was also found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Rule IIR-10 of the Code of Professional Conduct in that he did not respond to correspondence from CMA Alberta within the required time frame.

SANCTIONS:
1) Mr. Darrell Hoffman must attend Module #3 of the Strategic Leadership Program, entitled Ethical Scenarios and the Code of Conduct being offered in February of 2012,
2) suspension of his membership in CMA Alberta from May 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011,
3) payment of $1,000 of the costs of the Discipline Hearing, failure to pay this amount will result in continued suspension of Mr. Hoffman’s membership in CMA Alberta until it is paid in full.

PUBLICATION: Publication of suspension naming Darrell Hoffman for unprofessional conduct on the CMA Alberta website and the CMA Connects Magazine.

REFERENCE: Discipline Tribunal Decision regarding Mr. Gary Pears

FACTS: The member agreed to a Sanction Agreement on June 4, 2010 and did not comply with the third condition of this agreement, which displayed a general disregard for the process.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: The member was found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Section 91 (1) (g) of the Regulated Accounting Profession Act.

SANCTIONS:
1) Mr. Pears registration as a CMA was immediately cancelled,
2) a fine in the amount of $5,000, which must be paid prior to August 26, 2011,
3) payment of the costs of the Discipline Hearing, which must be paid within 90 days of service regarding these costs,
4) Notice of Mr. Pears’ registration to be made available to the public, by request.

PUBLICATION: Notice of cancellation of Mr. Pears’ registration to be published on the CMA Alberta website and in the Edmonton Journal.

REFERENCE: Discipline Tribunal Decision

FACTS: The member was providing professional accounting services with respect to a voluntary disclosure, and for reasons set out in the judgment, it was incumbent upon the member to utilize a letter of engagement that outlined the services the member was to provide as a basic step in risk management should a later misunderstanding occur. The Discipline Tribunal felt that this should be a basic standard for a competent professional, as failure to do so can lead to serious allegations of incompetence.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: The member was found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Article IP-2 of the CMA Alberta Code of Ethics

SANCTIONS:
1) payment of $5,000 towards the costs of the Discipline Tribunal Hearing within 60 days of being invoiced for these costs by CMA Alberta,
2) completion of the ICAA course entitled “Professional Risk Management: A Practical Perspective” by no later than December 31, 2011.
Failure to complete sanctions #1 and #2 above will result in the immediate revocation of membership in CMA Alberta

PUBLICATION: Summary of decision and sanction reported to CMA general membership on the CMA website.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with Mr. Frederick Yam, CMA

FACTS: The member is in public practice and he received three consecutive “non-comply” ratings resulting from practice reviews conducted on his firm’s review engagement client files.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: The member admitted to unprofessional conduct as per Article IP-2 of the CMA Alberta Code of Ethics in that he received a “non-comply” rating in three consecutive practice reviews.

SANCTIONS:
1) immediately cease to perform review engagements, including those already in progress,
2) a fine in the amount of $2,000.00,
3) payment of the costs of the Sanction Agreement Hearing,
4) provide a properly executed statutory declaration to CMA Alberta indicating that he has resigned from all review engagements, with the provision that he may apply to provide review engagements in the future,
5) failure to complete sanctions #1 to #4 above, by December 31, 2010 will result in the immediately suspension of Mr. Yam’s membership in CMA Alberta.

REFERENCE: Discipline Tribunal Hearing with Harry Ziel

FACTS: The member entered into a Sanction Agreement with the Complaints Inquiry Committee of CMA Alberta on June 18, 2009. It was determined by a Discipline Tribunal Panel that the member had breached certain portions of his Sanction Agreement being undertakings #1, #5, #6 and #7 of this agreement. The member continued to provide audit engagement services to his clients after he had received another “non-comply” rating for work performed on audit engagement files. Mr. Ziel failed to properly engage the services of a mentor with respect to his audit engagement files by having the mentor review and approve, in writing, all audit engagement files prior to the release of the associated financial statements. Through Mr. Ziel’s failure to enlist the services of a mentor he was unable to meet the requirement to implement all recommendations of the mentor. Finally, Mr. Ziel failed to complete the required professional development courses prior to December 31, 2009. During the Discipline Tribunal Hearing the member admitted to these breaches.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Mr. Ziel was found guilty of unprofessional conduct as per Section 91 of the Regulated Accounting Profession Act in that he failed to abide by the commitments and undertakings made in the Sanction Agreement contained in paragraphs #1, #5, #6 and #7.

SANCTIONS:
1) Immediate suspension of Mr. Ziel’s membership in CMA Alberta until May 6, 2011 subject to the following conditions:
-that he attend and complete the following professional development courses prior to May 5, 2011:
-ICAA - Communicating Skillfully in Critical Situations: The Key to Successful Relationships
-ICAA – Professional Risk Management: A Practical Perspective
-ICAA – Quality Assurance
-ICAA – Audit and Review Engagements: Required Communications
-that during the period of his suspension Mr. Ziel will not be able to use the CMA designation to gain employment or solicit clients
-that after his reinstatement Mr. Ziel refrain from using his CMA designation in the practice of public accounting until he has applied for and received approval from the Practice Review Committee to engage in the practice of public accounting in accordance with CMA Alberta’s Bylaws.
2) Payment of the costs of the Discipline Tribunal Hearing within 45 days of invoicing from CMA Alberta.
3) A fine in the amount of $15,000 to be paid by September 30, 2010
Failure to comply with any of these conditions within the time period provided will result in the cancellation of registration under this act.

PUBLICATION: Publication of the decision in summary form.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with Gary Pears

FACTS: The member was acting as the manager of a condominium association. There was a disagreement with the Board of Directors of this condominium association and the member resigned his position as manager. After his resignation Mr. Pears refused to return certain records belonging to the condominium association and he did not respond to queries from the auditor for the condominium association in a timely manner. Furthermore, Mr. Pears also did not respond to correspondence which he had received from CMA Alberta in a timely manner. It was also determined that Mr. Pears was in a conflict of interest position pertaining to the manner in which he was declaring the income that he had derived from his position as the manager of the condominium association. Mr. Pears admitted to all of these accusations at his Sanction Agreement Hearing.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Mr. Pears admitted to unprofessional conduct as per Articles IP-2, IIP-1 and VIP-1 of the Code of Ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct.

SANCTIONS:
1) A fine in the amount of $5,000 due by July 15, 2010
2) Payment of the costs of the Sanction Agreement Hearing by July 15, 2010
3) Engagement Letters between Mr. Pears and his remaining condominium association clients are to be signed and agreed to, with a copy of same to be provided to CMA Alberta by July 15, 2010

PUBLICATION: The general membership of CMA Alberta is to be advised of the fine imposed upon him by through this agreement.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with John W. Marshall

FACTS: The member was offering accounting services (compilation engagements) to the public; however he was not registered with CMA Alberta as a public accounting firm. Mr. Marshall also had not responded to correspondence which he had received from CMA Alberta in a timely manner. Mr. Marshall admitted to both of these accusations at his Sanction Agreement Hearing.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Mr. Marshall admitted to unprofessional conduct as per Articles IP-1, IP-2, IIP-1, VIIIR-3 and VIIIR-4 of the Code of Ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct.

SANCTIONS:
1) Immediate resignation of Mr. Marshall’s membership in CMA Alberta
2) Agreement to not apply for reinstatement as a CMA
3) A fine in the amount of $2,000 due by May 31, 2011

PUBLICATION: The resignation of Mr. Marshall to be reported to the general membership of CMA Alberta.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement (example of a past case)

FACTS: The member was acting as the property manager for a condominium association for which there was a formal agreement between the member and the association. In his capacity as property manager the member had access to condominium bank accounts and a debit card in the name of the condominium association.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: The member admitted to the following unprofessional conduct:
1) Withdrawing money from the bank account of the condominium association for personal benefit, which at times exceeded the amount that the member was to receive in property management fees.
2) Preparing monthly financial statements for the board of directors of the condominium association which did not accurately reflect the current financial position and which were not provided in a timely manner.
3) Failing to return condominium records in a timely manner.

SANCTIONS: A fine in the amount of $5,000, which is to be paid within 18 months of signing the sanction agreement and competency related courses.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with Mr. Darrell Hoffman, CMA

FACTS: The member admitted to completing an audit engagement for remuneration without being properly qualified and registered with CMA Alberta to provide such services. Mr. Hoffman also admitted that he had not cooperated with CMA Alberta and the investigator throughout the complaint resolution process.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Mr. Hoffman admitted to unprofessional conduct as per Articles IP-1, IP-2 and IP-3 and Rules IIR-10, IIR-11(b), VIIIR-4 and VIIIR-7 of the CMA Alberta Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct.

SANCTIONS:
1) Payment of a fine in the amount of $10,000, and
2) Mr. Hoffman’s membership in CMA Alberta will be suspended for a minimum period of one month. His membership may not be reinstated until such time as the fine imposed under #1 above has been paid in full, however payment of the fine is required by no later than January 12, 2011.

PUBLICATION: Notice of Mr. Hoffman’s suspension shall be made to the general membership and to his current employer.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with Mr. Ken Mercer

FACTS: The member was in public practice until the year 2007, at which time he informed CMA Alberta that he had retired from public practice. Subsequent to this, it came to CMA Alberta’s attention that Mr. Mercer had completed at least two Review Engagements in 2008. During his Sanction Agreement Hearing, Mr. Mercer admitted to completing two Review Engagements and to completing a number of other Compilation Agreements without being properly registered to do so with CMA Alberta. Mr. Mercer also admitted to being in Public Practice without the proper public liability insurance.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Mr. Mercer admitted to unprofessional conduct as per Articles IP-1, IP-2, VIIIP-1 and VIIIP-2 of the CMA Alberta Code of Ethics.

SANCTIONS:
1) Immediate resignation of Mr. Mercer’s membership in CMA Alberta,
2) An undertaking to not apply for re-admission as a CMA,
3) Payment of a $1,000.00 fine, and
4) Payment of the costs of the Sanction Agreement Hearing in the amount of $2,078.76.

PUBLICATION: Resignation of Mr. Mercer to be reported to the general membership of CMA Alberta and to the public.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with Mr. Dale Sutherland

FACTS: The member was employed as the controller of a Calgary-based company. In this position Mr. Sutherland was ultimately responsible for the computerized system that provided accounting information to the management of his employer. It appears that the accounting information which was provided to management from this system was lacking in a number of areas. Furthermore, there was a discrepancy over a number of company payments made to the benefit of Mr. Sutherland.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Mr. Sutherland admitted to unprofessional conduct as per Article IP-3 of the CMA Alberta Code of Ethics by failing to put the interests of his employer above his own, thereby failing to ensure that the accounting controls that were in place, and ought to have been followed, were in fact adhered to.

SANCTIONS:
1) immediate resignation of Mr. Sutherland’s membership in CMA Alberta;
2) an undertaking to not apply for re-admission as a CMA; and
3) payment of costs in the amount of $2,921.12.

PUBLICATION: Resignation of Mr. Sutherland to be reported to the general membership of CMA Alberta.

REFERENCE: Sanction Agreement with Mr. Harry Ziel, CMA

FACTS: The member is in public practice and he received a “non-comply” rating on his firm’s audit client files resulting from three consecutive practice reviews.

SANCTIONS:
1) If the outcome of the next practice review is a “non-comply” rating, with respect to audits, the member will immediately cease to perform audit engagements, including those already in progress;
2) A fine in the amount of $1,000;
3) Payment of costs of the Sanction Agreement Hearing;
4) The member will not accept any new audit engagements until a practice review confirms his compliance with respect to audits and the member will immediately provide a listing of all current audit clients;
5) The member must engage the services of a mentor, approved by CMA Alberta, with respect to audits and all audit engagement files must be reviewed and approved by the mentor prior to release of the financial statements;
6) All recommendations of the mentor must be implemented immediately;
7) Prior to December 31, 2009, the member must attend professional development courses, relating to audit engagements, totalling a minimum of 14 hours and must provide evidence of attendance at these courses; and
8) The mentor must be provided with a copy of the sanctions relating to his/her role in relation to this agreement.