Lower Hutt accountant suspended amid accusations she misappropriated $23,000 of client's money
Wednesday, 4 October 2017
Lower Hutt accountant Paulette O'Reilly has been handed an interim suspension amid claims she took $23,000 from a client for personal gain, a complaint before the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) alleges.
Public interest, and the financial interest of O'Reilly's clients, are reasons cited by the NZICA Disciplinary Tribunal for her suspension.
The tribunal's concerns included potential risk to O'Reilly's current and future clients, and its decision questioned whether the wrongdoing might be more widespread than one client.
O'Reilly's integrity was in question, the tribunal's decision said.
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However, her business partner believed O'Reilly had been hung out to dry, and didn't deserve it.
There was concerns O'Reilly misled the tribunal at a previous hearing, on November 23 last year, the decision said.
At a hearing in November 2016, O'Reilly was found guilty of behaviour 'unbecoming an accountant', and for breaching the institute's code of ethics.
O'Reilly didn't pay her client in a timely manner, and held money on his behalf in her own savings account, the November decision stated.
At the time, O'Reilly assured the tribunal that she had accounted for the balance of the client's funds and was adamant that nobody had lost out.
The institute's public notice, published in The Dominion Post on Tuesday, said O'Reilly had advised that she never had a trust account, because she didn't need one, as she did not normally handle client funds.
However, in light of other statements she made at the November hearing which appeared to be incorrect, the tribunal was concerned her dealings with client funds may be 'more widespread', the notice said.
O'Reilly's response to the complaint and the application, in the tribunal's view, demonstrated 'lack of insight and honesty' about dealing with client funds, it said.
Attempts to reach a final decision had been delayed as O'Reilly's counsel was not available for tribunal dates in October and November.
A Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) spokesman Mike Booker said as it was an interim decision of the tribunal. O'Reilly's suspension would be enforced until further notice, ahead of a final decision.
Booker said the CAANZ could not comment on where the money was at this stage.
'Much of it will become clear when there's a final decision.'
O'Reilly's partner Steve Lovell said 'it's a long story'.
He said he did not know the details. 'Long story short, she's a lovely person, and someone has taken advantage and she didn't look closely enough.'
'Everything has been put right, as far as I am aware.'
O'Reilly had been a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants for many years, he said.
'They've left her to hang out to dry.'
Lovell said he wanted to stand up for O'Reilly's character.
'She's had the short end of the stick for someone else's behaviour … she's had to roll with the punches.'
O'Reilly had a business and children, too, he said.
'She shouldn't be put through this.'
Lovell had not seen the public notice and said he was unaware of O'Reilly's interim suspension.
O'Reilly did not answer calls to her home address.
The office of Get Wise Accounting, of which O'Reilly was listed as a director and shareholder, did not answer when called on Tuesday.
O'Reilly was chairwoman of the Netball Wellington Centre in 2013. In 2005, she was the president.
Netball Wellington Centre general manager Sue Geale said O'Reilly had not been involved with the centre for about seven years, which was before she started.