DisciplinaryNews
Allegations of misconduct against AAT members are investigated by the Professional Standards team, using AAT’s disciplinary process. Please note: the following is only a summary; full details are at bit.ly/disciplinary-outcomes
All sanctions are determined in line with AAT’s Indicative Sanctions Guidance and reflect the particular circumstances and available evidence present in each case. All allegations of misconduct were valid at time of publication.
Amanda Riamo (10442068) committed multiple breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) and failed to have in place any or any adequate continuity of practice agreement. She was fined £2,000, reprimanded, warned and deemed ineligible to hold AAT fellow membership for two years. The reprimand will remain live on Ms Riamo’s record for two years.
Amer Usman (20428766) provided misleading statements to AAT on his AAT full membership and Licensed Accountant applications. He was expelled from membership of AAT for a period of four years.
Barrie Whitwood (189677) failed to apply adequate risk-based due diligence and ongoing monitoring measures in respect of one or more clients, failed to comply with Paragraph 10 of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy and provided company secretarial services outside the scope of his licence. He was fined £1,500, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Whitwood’s record for two years.
Brian Gumbley (230892) committed multiple breaches of the MLR and failed to comply with Paragraph 33(b) of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy. He was fined £2,000, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Gumbley’s record for two years.
Carl McCabe (113286) failed to apply adequate risk-based due diligence and ongoing monitoring measures in respect of one or more clients and failed to comply with Paragraph 10 of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy. He was fined £500, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr McCabe’s record for two years.
Carmen Parker (210438) committed multiple breaches of the MLR; acted as a trust and/or company service provider (TCSP) without being licensed by AAT or registered with HMRC as a relevant person to do so; failed to have in place and or any adequate continuity of practice agreement; and failed to have in place any or any adequate letters of engagement. She was fined £2,500 and severely reprimanded for two years.
Caroline Morcom (108384) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, failed to hold adequate professional indemnity insurance (PII) and made misleading statements on AAT licence renewal applications. She was fined £4,000, warned and expelled from membership of AAT for three years.
Daniel Garland (10070816) failed to carry out any or any adequate risk assessment and ongoing monitoring in respect of one or more clients; provided services outside the scope of his AAT licence; committed multiple breaches of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy; and failed to have in place any or any adequate arrangements for continuity of practice. He was fined £2,500 and severely reprimanded for two years.
David Morgan (7983140) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, failed to fully comply with AAT’s Continuing Professional Development Policy, failed to have in place an adequate continuity of practice agreement and made a misleading statement on his AAT licence renewal application. He was fined £2,000, reprimanded and warned. The reprimand will remain live on Mr Morgan’s record for three years.
Emma Marchant-Lane (10152858) provided self-employed accountancy services to the public without a licence and without appropriate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervision. She was fined £2,500, reprimanded and warned. The reprimand will remain live on Ms Marchant-Lane’s record for two years.
Hannah Collins (20066713) provided self-employed accountancy services to the public without a licence and without appropriate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervision; failed to notify AAT of a disciplinary sanction within 30 days; and failed to notify AAT of an insolvency within 30 days. She was expelled from membership of AAT for five years.
Joanna Strickland (10156748) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, acted as a TCSP without being licensed by AAT or approved by HMRC as a relevant person to do so and failed to receive and hold clients’ money in accordance with AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy. She was fined £5,000 and severely reprimanded for three years.
Joanne Sagar (10083336) abused her position by appropriating £27,530 from her employer, was subject to a finding by another professional body in respect of her actions and failed to notify AAT of the disciplinary finding within 30 days. She was warned and expelled from membership of AAT.
Joshua Rainford (10212626) provided self-employed accountancy services to the public without a licence. He was fined £1,930 and reprimanded for two years.
Kenneth Stratton (6195080) failed to apply to AAT for approval of a beneficial owner of his firm; failed to carry out a regular review of his firm’s AML policies, controls and procedures; and failed to hold clients’ money in full compliance with AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy. He was fined £1,000, warned and reprimanded for two years.
Lucy Parris (20077580) committed multiple breaches of the MLR and provided company secretarial services outside the scope of her licence. She was fined £2,500, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Ms Parris’s record for two years.
Mandy Cooper (180449) provided self-employed accountancy services to the public without a licence. She was fined £1,000, reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for two years. The reprimand will remain live on Ms Cooper’s record for two years.
Mark Burton (141500) failed to apply adequate risk-based due diligence and ongoing monitoring measures in respect of one or more clients and failed to comply with Paragraph 10 of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy. He was fined £500, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Burton’s record for two years.
Nareshchandra Karia (185) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, failed to hold clients’ money in a client money account in accordance with Paragraph 10 of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy and failed to have in place any or any adequate arrangements for continuity of practice. He was fined £4,200, severely reprimanded, warned and removed from AAT fellow membership for three years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Karia’s record for three years.
Peter Rushman (8985) committed multiple breaches of the MLR; did not comply with Paragraphs 11, 31 and 33(b) of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy; and provided limited assurance engagement services outside the scope of his licence. He was fined £3,000, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for three years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Rushman’s record for three years.
Philip Rowberry (10069353) failed to apply adequate risk-based due diligence and ongoing monitoring measures in respect of one or more clients; did not review his AML policies, controls and procedures; did not comply with Paragraphs 10 and 28 of AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy; and failed to have sufficient PII coverage in place. He was fined £3,000, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Rowberry’s record for two years.
Riaz Malik (10044257) provided self-employed accountancy services to the public without a licence and without appropriate AML supervision. He was fined £3,198, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Malik’s record for two years.
Rizwan Chopdat (193445) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, provided limited assurance engagement services outside the scope of his licence, failed to issue any or any adequate letters of engagement to one or more clients and failed to have in place any or any adequate continuity of practice agreement. He was fined £4,500, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for three years. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Chopdat’s record for three years.
Sally Yerby (10441910) committed multiple breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) and failed to have in place any or any adequate continuity of practice agreement. She was fined £2,000, reprimanded, warned and deemed ineligible to hold AAT fellow membership for two years. The reprimand will remain live on Ms Yerby’s record for two years.
Samuel Harrison (10338830) did not act accordingly with the requirements of an assignment carefully, thoroughly and on a timely basis. He was fined £500, reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for two years. The reprimand will remain live on Mr Harrison’s record for two years.
Sanjay Ravatia (10141598) committed multiple breaches of the MLR; provided TCSP and corporation tax services outside the scope of his licence; failed to have in place any or any adequate continuity of practice agreement; failed to have in place a process for handling client complaints as required under AAT’s Client Care Policy; failed to issue letters of engagement that were fully compliant with AAT’s Client Care Policy; and failed to comply with AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy by receiving clients’ money into his firm’s office bank account. He was fined £4,500, severely reprimanded, deemed unfit to hold AAT fellow membership for two years and warned. The severe reprimand will remain live on Mr Ravatia’s record for two years.
For more information on AAT’s licence requirements, visit aat.org.uk/about-aat/professional-standards/aat-licensing
