ICAEW Avis 9

Absolute waste of time complaining to these. They twist everything you say and take the side of the people that have done wrong. All these bodies are corrupt and look after each other and make it look like the people filing a complaint are just trying to cause trouble. Honestly can't believe how rubbish they are, which means an accountant filing false accounts and hiding a crime are just getting away with it.

Terrible service as per all the other reviews. Like other terrible British institutions I could name like TFL it is solely preoccupied with itself & has a monopoly on previously qualifieds to cough up big membership fees after they have gone through blood, sweat & tears to get their badges. & there is zero market pressure there & a ton of vested interests shoring them up. So don't expect anything good when you deal with them - I can guarantee you will not get anywhere if you are asking anything of them. Unless you are going to give them a ton of money for doing nothing or being needlessly bureaucratic to show how important they are which they are very good at.

ICAEW have been guaranteeing that my application will be processed and I’ve been calling them at least twice a month for the last 5 months. They’re rude, not helpful and commonly just blame another member of staff. They don’t let me speak, don’t answer my questions and call me rude out of awkwardness. They said they’ll report me to my employer but I told them my employer is equally frustrated with them and that threat was not used since. They said they’ll look at the recorded calls and get back to me but as expected I’ve had nothing yet. Looking at these reviews it’s obvious they don’t care about the members. It’s a shame this is the professional institution I’ve used. Had I known this prior to my exams I would have chosen another institution.

I approached the ICAEW around an issue with one of their member firms and misuse of language and its defamatory implications in a marital separation. They failed to investigate properly and instead protected the member. I believe this organisation which is funded by its members is compromised as a result.

I began dealing with Victoria Bailey in 2019 when I reported a member to her. To say the system is shocking and open to abuse is an understatement.

The member had already been sanctioned for other breaches. My complaint was dismissed despite the facts below

1) The IP failed to visit the site to check on assets left at a luxury hotel.
2) The IP was liaisng between 2 directors of the company - one saying the assets were at the property, the other saying they were not.
3) The IP telephoned me "off the record" to say that the last few weeks of bank statements for the company had not been obtained and I had to obtain them myself.
4) The IP said he leapt at the director's offer for payment of £600 for the name and goodwill which meant the directors could re-use the name and pretend to be relocating due to success, leave their debts behind of over £300k, mostly to HMRC and start again at a different venue within 4 months.
5) New companies had been incorporated by the 3 directors when the company was failing for them to make direct payments into 3 accounts in their names for "consultancy fees". These companies were then struck off by Companies House with no filings.

A further complaint was made about another member which I will add details on soon.

These failings will be brought to the public's attention.

Another governing body which can't govern. Refused to investigate Leonard Curtis after their disastrous appointment of ITI Capital as the broker following the administration of SVS Securities.
Dozens of clients have lost their assets and Louise Eames at ICAEW and her CEO, Michael Izza are just not interested. Scandalous. Avoid at all costs.
And it there are three reviews here, all one star, how come ICAEW have three. Accounting error I presume.

and ditto again.

We evidenced to the ICAEW that a member firm had incorrectly signed off a set of accounts and that the member firm was not interested in correcting the mistake and was hiding behind client confidentiality to stone wall us.

According to the ICAEW the member had been lied to by their client and they had evidence of this but no one actually needs to do anything about it or be held accountable.

So much for a regulatory body!

Ditto previous comments (this review was removed then reinstated so should have been further down).

It would not have mattered what I said or presented to ICAEW, all my concerns and complaints were dismissed. I took it all the way to so-called 'independant review' to be told it is only 50% 'independant'. The report sent was extremely biased and they did not confirm that they incorporated my corrections or presented my submission. Indeed, I saw no evidence of the ''Independant Review' actually taking place.

A financial journalist said to me 'One of the perils of self regulation is that regulatory/member bodies are able to circle their wagons around miscreant practitioners and firms'.

Of-course when the regulators are paid by their own members, the conflict of interest is far too great. That is aside any 'boys club' gang.

There is no regulation of so-called 'professionals' (accountants and solicitors) in this country in my experience. My experience is also that there are so few people in places of influence that have any honour or integrity.

They failed to properly investigate a high profile member who was on a 6 figure salary, no matter what evidence got put to them.