Professional Negligence Claims against Accountants
When we go to an Accountant or IFA we do so because they possess expertise in areas that are often a mystery to us. We rely on the advice that they give us. A mistake made by an Accountant or IFA is likely to cause significant financial loss.
Examples of the kinds of claims that Accountants and IFAs commonly face include:-
- Failure to set losses incurred in one year against other income for tax purposes;
- Failure to advise a sole trader to set up as a limited company in order to claim tax relief against a payment made for goodwill;
- Failure to correctly complete a tax return or failure to file the return on time thereby incurring penalties imposed by H M Revenue & Customs;
- Overvalued company assets;
- Mis-sold / misrepresented schemes designed to defer income or Capital Gains Tax;
- Failure to advise that dividends can only be paid from realisable profit thereby exposing individual shareholders to indefensible claims by Insolvency Practitioners in the event of insolvency of the company at a later date;
- Failure to detect a fraud or misappropriation of funds
There has recently been a significant increase in claims against Accountants and IFAs. More than three times the amount of claims were commenced in the High Court against accountants last year than in the preceding four years put together. Whilst claims for professional negligence against an accountant or IFA are typically complex we have the expertise and experience to pursue them rigorously and effectively on your behalf.
If you think you have a claim against an accountant or IFA please do not hesitate to contact us.
