In this month’s roundup of developments in accounting and financial reporting, 10-year ban for Mehigan ACA, PSC register and Scottish partnerships, FRC scales back PwC probe over Tesco accounting, IASB consults on IFRS 13 fair value measurement change
10-year ban for Mehigan over Cup Trust
ICAEW member John Anthony Mehigan has been banned for 10 years and fined £70,000 by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for his role in the discredited Cup Trust charity, which was involved in a £46m tax avoidance scheme.
This is the first time the audit regulator has issued substantial fines and bans over an abusive tax avoidance scheme, rather than audit and accounting failures and abuse.
The charity’s auditor, Hillier Hopkins, and audit partner Philip Collins have also been given fines and reprimands.
The regulator started the inquiry in December 2013 after the Cup Trust was denounced as a ‘sham charity’ in highly critical reports from the Public Accounts Committee and National Audit Office, amid claims it was seeking to abuse gift aid rules.
T
