Singapore legislation
Section 34
Section 34
Suspension, cancellation of registration, etc., of public accountants
(1)
Where the Board, upon consideration of the report of an Inquiry Committee, is satisfied that a 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 unfit for his profession;
has been guilty of such improper or dishonourable conduct in the discharge of his professional duty or such improper or dishonourable conduct which, in the opinion of the Board, renders him unfit to be a public accountant or would bring the profession of public accountancy into disrepute;
has carried on by himself or by any of his 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, failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the accounting corporation from acting in a manner which would warrant the Board imposing any order on the accounting corporation under section 35(1);
has rendered public accountancy services as, or purporting to be, a director of a company which is not an accounting corporation when the service was rendered;
has, while being a director of an accounting corporation, practised public accountancy at such a time when the accounting corporation 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 Board may, after giving the public accountant concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard, exercise one or more of the powers referred to in subsection (2).
(2)
The powers the Board may exercise under subsection (1) are as follows:
by order cancel the registration of a public accountant;
by order suspend a public accountant from practice for such 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 a public accountant in such manner as the Board thinks fit for a period not exceeding 2 years;
by order impose on a public accountant a penalty not exceeding $5,000;
by writing censure a public accountant; or
by order require a public accountant to give such undertaking as the Board thinks fit.
(3)
Where a public accountant, in respect of whom an order referred to in subsection (2)(c) or (f) is made, is adjudged by the Board to have failed to comply with any of the requirements imposed on him as conditions or to have breached his undertaking, the Board may, if it thinks fit, decide to order —
that his name be removed from the Register of Public Accountants; or
that he be suspended from practice for such period not exceeding 12 months as may be specified in the order.
(4)
Where the Board has made an order referred to in subsection (2)(c), the Board may revoke the order or revoke or vary any of the conditions imposed by the order.
(5)
Where the Board has, under subsection (4), varied the conditions imposed by an order referred to in subsection (2)(c), the Registrar shall forthwith serve on the person to whom the order applies a notice of the variation.
(6)
Any penalty referred to in subsection (2)(d) and any costs and expenses ordered to be paid to the Board under section 33(3) shall be recoverable as debts due to the Board from the public accountant concerned.
(7)
A decision of the Board under subsection (1), (3) or (4) shall not take effect —
until the expiration 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 High Court under section 36, until the appeal has been determined or withdrawn.
(8)
While any public accountant remains suspended, he shall be deemed not to be registered as a public accountant under this Act but immediately upon the expiry of his period of suspension, his rights and privileges as a public accountant shall forthwith be revived.
(9)
The Board may appoint a legal assessor who may be present at any hearing into any matter to advise the Board on all matters of law.
(10)
The Board may, where it thinks fit, require an Inquiry Committee to consider further evidence and meet for that purpose except that the public accountant concerned shall be given not less than 14 days’ notice of such further meeting of the Inquiry Committee.
(11)
For the purposes of subsection (1)(e), a public accountant shall be deemed to have taken reasonable steps to prevent the doing of any act by any accounting corporation if he satisfies the Board that the act was done without his knowledge and that —
he was not in a position to influence the conduct of the accounting corporation in relation to its action; or
he, being a director, exercised all due diligence to prevent the accounting corporation from so acting.
(12)
In this section, references to acts done by an accounting corporation include references to omissions and to a series of acts or omissions to act.[21