Case information

Administrative law — Boards and tribunals — Evidence — Accountant found guilty of unprofessional conduct and sanctioned — Whether professional discipline tribunal must always consider, as relevant, evidence of complainant’s partiality when assessing complainant’s credibility as witness and probative value of their testimony — Whether professional discipline tribunal must make specific findings of fact as regards regulated person’s guilty mental state, including differentiating between actual and constructive knowledge, when determining allegations of professional misconduct.

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The applicant is a chartered professional accountant and the subject of a complaint of unprofessional conduct made to his regulating body, the respondent, Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta (CPAA). Following a hearing before a Discipline Tribunal of the CPAA, he was found guilty of unprofessional conduct. The Discipline Tribunal imposed sanctions including a two-year suspension of his registration. An Appeal Tribunal of the CPAA heard an appeal and cross-appeal. The Appeal Tribunal upheld the finding of unprofessional conduct and increased the sanction, cancelling the applicant’s registration as a chartered professional accountant. The applicant appealed both aspects of the Appeal Tribunal’s decision to the Court of Appeal. The appeal of the decision upholding the finding of unprofessional conduct was dismissed. The appeal on sanction was allowed. The cancellation of his registration was overturned and the sanctions imposed by the Discipline Tribunal were reinstated.