CA ANZ receives ‘tick of approval’ for Professional Standards Scheme

CA ANZ has earned approval from the Professional Standards Council for its new scheme.

The accounting body has provided such a scheme to its Australian members since 1997, and it has applied in all Australian states and territories under the professional standards legislation.

“The scheme refers to a statutory mechanism focused on ensuring consumer protection through high professional standards and mandatory professional indemnity insurance,” CA ANZ said.

“In exchange for maintaining these high standards, participating CA ANZ members in public practice receive the benefit of statutory capped occupational liability.”

The body said the scheme would potentially limit the maximum amount that could be awarded for a legal claim against a firm and applied to members with a certificate of public practice, affiliate members, and practice entity members.

It was also noted that to receive the endorsement, associations must also show that they were continuously improving the standards of members through the implementation of robust regulatory systems and detailed risk management strategies designed to protect consumers.

The scheme was created to add another layer in the risk management safety net, and the cap protecting against legal claims was affected by the size and nature of the practice.

All members would be subject to the scheme and could not “opt out,” with legislation governing the scheme stating that for a member of the scheme, disclaimers must be included on all documents given to actual and prospective clients, including all business stationary, emails, facsimiles and webpages.

Failing to display the disclaimer could mean liability for the amount of a claim that insurance won’t cover and would be an offence under the legislation that could result in a fine.

Ainslie van Onselen, chief executive of CA ANZ, said this would include promoting professional standards, upholding the code of ethics and regulating the code of approximately 32,000 Australian members in public practice whose work comes under this scheme.

“Ultimately, the scheme gives the public confidence that Chartered Accountants are being held to the highest standards, across regulation, education and ethics, by their membership body,” van Onselen said.