Accountants' Negligence and Liability

Accounting firms can be held liable for the full amount of losses of a collapsed company even if they are only partly to blame. Accountants' Negligence and Liability is the only title on the market to provide all the information needed fully to analyse potential liability in this field of practice. It covers statutory and non-statutory audits, tax advice, specified procedures reporting, due diligence reports and corporate finance reporting. It also looks at difficult legal issues including the scope of losses for which the accountant may be liable with detailed reference to case law as well as money laundering and regulatory issues. Limitation and contributory fault are considered with special reference to accountants’ cases. The book is fully up to date, including discussion of the Audit Regulation and the Audit Directive coming into force in June 2016. Case law coverage is comprehensive. The authors have referred to every significant reported accountancy case in the English courts and included the most important commonwealth cases as well. There is full discussion of the difficult issues in this area of law including the recoverability of trading losses and the defence of ex turpi causa. The significance of Caparo v Dickman is fully explained, as is the controversy surrounding Galoo v Bright Graeme Murray. An original analysis is offered of the interaction of these cases with SAAMCO and of the controversial decision of the House of Lords in Stone & Rolls v Moore Stephens.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Introductory Chapter 1 Introduction and general principle Part 2 Auditing Chapter 2 The legal framework of auditing Chapter 3 The regulatory framework of auditing Chapter 4 Characterising the auditor’s relationship with the company and the elements of and defences to a claim for audit negligence Chapter 5 Caparo: the objects and scope of the auditor’s duty of care in tort Chapter 6 Applications of the Caparo principle Chapter 7 Breach of duty and the auditor’s standard of care Chapter 8 Scope of auditor’s duty – for what losses is the auditor liable? Part 3 Other liabilities of accountants Chapter 9 Non-audit liability of accountants Chapter 10 Conflicts of interest and confidential information Part 4 Defences Chapter 11 Policy defences – ex turpi and insolvency Chapter 12 Limitation Chapter 13 Disclaimers and exclusions of liability Chapter 14 Contributory negligence and contribution Chapter 15 Counterclaims and mitigation of loss Chapter 16 Statutory relief Part 5 Issues arising in litigation concerning accountants Chapter 17 Disclosure Chapter 18 Expert evidence Part 6 Disciplinary regimes and money laundering Chapter 19 Disciplinary regimes Chapter 20 Money laundering