The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is looking to hire additional legal chairs for its independent tribunals which are set up to hear specific disciplinary and sanctions cases against auditors and accountants facing financial irregularities
The chair of a disciplinary tribunal/joint disciplinary tribunal under one or both of the FRC’s disciplinary schemes, and the chairman of a tribunal appointed under either of the sanctions procedures must be a lawyer (a current or former member of the judiciary, a barrister, an advocate or a solicitor).
The chair of an appeal tribunal must be a current or former member of the judiciary or a QC.
The chair’s role is to work with the other members of the tribunal to hear a formal complaint and determine whether an auditor is liable to sanction and if, so what sanction should be applied.
Tribunals must comprise in addition to the chair, a lay person, and an accountant in cases brought under the current accountancy scheme or sanctions procedures, or an actuary in cases brought under the actuarial scheme.
The FRC is being given wider powers as the UK’s designated competent authority, which will also include disciplinary tribunals.
The regulator says candidates for the role of legal chair should have personal credibility within their field and a record of achievement; strong intellectual qualities and sound judgement with the ability to make sense of complex technical issues and assess evidence with impartiality; the ability to analyse complex issues, apply a public perspective and provide clear judgements; and extensive experience of dealing with large scale commercial business/financial matters and demanding legal issues.
Candidates will need to be prepared to devote sufficient time to the business of a tribunal, including attending sitting days and work in preparation for and post hearings. Cases are often complex, contested, and hearings may take several weeks to conclude, the FRC warns.
Legal chairs are paid a fee of £950, and pro rata fees are paid for reading papers in advance of hearings, other preparation work and any pre-hearing/post-hearing matters, along with expenses.
The closing date for applications is 22 April 2016, with the FRC expecting new appointments to begin in mid June.
Details on the FRC legal chair application are here
