Singapore legislation
Section 52
Section 52
Cancellation of registration, suspension, etc., of public accountants
(1)
If, at the conclusion of the formal inquiry, the Disciplinary Committee is satisfied that the public accountant —
has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty or moral turpitude;
has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of any offence implying a defect in character which makes him or her unfit for his or her profession;
has been guilty of such improper or dishonourable conduct in the discharge of his or her professional duty or such improper or dishonourable conduct which, in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee, renders him or her unfit to be a public accountant or would bring the profession of public accountancy into disrepute;
has carried on by himself or herself or by any of his or her employees any trade, business or calling that detracts from the profession of public accountancy or is in any way incompatible with it, or is employed in any such trade, business or calling;
has, while being a director of an accounting corporation or a partner of an accounting LLP, failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the accounting corporation or accounting LLP from acting in a manner which would warrant the Oversight Committee imposing any order on the accounting corporation or accounting LLP under section 53(2);
has rendered public accountancy services as, or purporting to be —
a director of a company which was not an accounting corporation; or
a partner of a limited liability partnership which was not an accounting LLP,when the services were rendered;
has, while being a director of an accounting corporation or partner of an accounting LLP, practised public accountancy at such a time when the accounting corporation or accounting LLP was not covered by any professional indemnity insurance or was not so covered to the extent required by section 28; or
has, while being a director of an accounting corporation, failed to comply with section 29(4),the Disciplinary Committee must report its findings to the Oversight Committee and recommend to the Oversight Committee to take any of the actions referred to in subsection (2)(a) to (f).
(2)
Upon receiving the report and recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee under subsection (1), the Oversight Committee may —
by order cancel the registration of the public accountant;
by order suspend the public accountant from practice for a period not exceeding 2 years as may be specified in the order;
by order impose such conditions as are necessary to restrict the practice of the public accountant in such manner as the Oversight Committee thinks fit for a period not exceeding 2 years;
by order impose on the public accountant a penalty not exceeding $10,000;
by writing censure the public accountant;
by order require the public accountant to give such undertaking as the Oversight Committee thinks fit; or
make such other order as it thinks just and expedient in the circumstances of the case.
(3)
In addition to its powers under subsection (2), the Oversight Committee may order the public accountant concerned to pay to the Authority such sums as it thinks fit in respect of costs and expenses of and incidental to any proceedings against him or her under this Part and the General Division of the High Court has jurisdiction to tax such costs and any such order for costs is enforceable as if it were ordered in connection with a civil action in the General Division of the High Court.
(4)
Where a public accountant in respect of whom an order mentioned in subsection (2)(c), (d) or (f) has been made fails to comply with any of the requirements imposed on him or her by the order or breaches any undertaking given by him or her pursuant to such order, the Oversight Committee may order —
that his or her name be removed from the Register of Public Accountants; or
that he or she be suspended from practice for such period not exceeding 12 months as may be specified in the order.
(5)
Where the Oversight Committee has made an order mentioned in subsection (2)(c), the Oversight Committee may, having regard to any change in circumstances, by another order revoke the original order or revoke or vary any of the conditions imposed by the original order.
(6)
Where the Oversight Committee has, under subsection (5), varied the conditions imposed by an order mentioned in subsection (2)(c), the Registrar must immediately serve on the public accountant concerned a notice of the variation.
(7)
Any penalty mentioned in subsection (2)(d) is recoverable as a debt due to the Authority from the public accountant concerned.
(8)
A decision of the Oversight Committee under subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5) does not take effect —
until the expiry of one month from the date on which the decision has been communicated to the public accountant concerned; or
where an appeal against the decision is made to the General Division of the High Court under section 54, until the appeal has been determined or withdrawn.
(9)
While any public accountant remains suspended, he or she is deemed not to be registered as a public accountant under this Act but immediately upon the expiry of his or her period of suspension, his or her rights and privileges as a public accountant are immediately revived.
(10)
For the purposes of subsection (1)(e), a public accountant is deemed to have taken reasonable steps to prevent the doing of any act by any accounting corporation or accounting LLP if he or she satisfies the Disciplinary Committee that the act was done without his or her knowledge and that —
he or she was not in a position to influence the conduct of the accounting corporation or accounting LLP in relation to its action; or
he or she, being a director of the accounting corporation or a partner of the accounting LLP, exercised all due diligence to prevent the accounting corporation or accounting LLP from so acting.
(11)
In this section, references to acts done by an accounting corporation or an accounting LLP include references to omissions and to a series of acts or omissions to act.