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Insolvency profession to unite on disciplinary measures

Draft proposals on a common approach to reprimanding practitioners will be discussed at next meeting of licensing bodies and regulator

STREAMLINING SANCTIONS on insolvency practitioners across all seven licensing bodies is being discussed by the regulator.

The draft Common Sanctions Guidance has been passed to the Joint Insolvency Committee – part of the government regulatory body Insolvency Service – to discuss whether any changes are needed and how quickly it can be rolled out.

It was written by licencing body the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) to reinforce consistency of disciplinary outcomes across the profession.

Currently there are several licensing bodies including the IPA, ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA and CIMA. However, the way they reprimand practitioners can widely differ.

David Kerr, CEO of IPA and the draft’s author, said a common sanctions guidance would bring greater clarity and transparency to disciplinary measures and could increase confidence from the creditor community.

“A published common sanctions guidance will be an important part of the new complaints regime. It will help to ensure that decisions on complaints are demonstrably consistent, and it will go a long way to improving transparency and building greater confidence in the regulation processes,” he said.

Last year, the Office of Fair Trading investigated the corporate insolvency profession and made several suggestions including the introduction of a single complaints body.

The Joint Insolvency Committee (JIC) will look at the draft proposals at the next meeting scheduled for the end of May. However, it is expected a public consultation or roll out will not take place until much later this year.

The JIC consists of a representative of all the licensing bodies and a member of the Insolvency Service. The profession’s trade body R3 and the Northern Ireland arm of the Insolvency service are granted observer status.

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