Whistle-blowing on your client

A balancing act of client confidentiality and ethical responsibility!

Accountants should be acutely interested in a new standard that "encourages professional accountants to speak up where they discover laws and regulations are not being adhered to" as stated in a media release by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB). This new standard is known as "Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations" or "NOCLAR" and is now incorporated into the code of ethics adopted by major accounting bodies including CA ANZ and CPA Australia.

What does NOCLAR mean for accountants?

Previously, accountants were protected by client confidentiality from having to disclose client non-compliance to the relevant authorities including the police, Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or regulatory bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).