Fee Langstone regularly acts for accountants and auditors facing professional or disciplinary complaints and in defending civil proceedings.

We regularly act for accountants and auditors (either through insurers or directly) in defending civil proceedings involving allegations of professional negligence, breach of duty or other regulatory breaches. In recent years, we have acted for some of the “Big Four” and other prominent accounting firms in some of New Zealand’s largest and most complex claims involving accountants and auditors, and have successfully represented them in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

We also act for accountants and auditors facing professional or disciplinary complaints to the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA)/Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), and other professional accountancy bodies. We have extensive experience in providing practical advice and assisting accountants and auditors (and their insurers) in navigating the disciplinary complaints process and achieving early resolution and reputation management. We have acted for these professionals at all stages of the disciplinary complaint process including before the Professional Conduct Committee, Disciplinary Tribunal and Appeals Council.

Our work highlights

Acting for a major accounting firm in High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court hearings in relation to champerty/maintenance and litigation funding issues (Walker v Forbes [2015] NZHC 1730, (2015) 22 PRNZ 660; PricewaterhouseCoopers v Walker [2017] NZSC 151).
Acting for a major accounting firm in connection with an alleged negligent audit in the Fuji Xerox litigation (damages in excess of $280 million).
Acting for a major accounting firm in relation to a complaint made to NZICA by the regulator, including in the Professional Conduct Committee, Disciplinary Tribunal and Appeals Council.

Acting for the auditor of a failed finance company in High Court proceedings and a disciplinary complaint.
Acting for accountants and auditors in relation to professional complaints and disciplinary matters, including representing clients before NZICA’s Professional Conduct Committee, Disciplinary Tribunal and Appeals Council.
Acting for insurers and insured accountants in defending negligence and other claims brought against them in civil proceedings, including in relation to alleged negligent tax advice, GST treatment, imputation credits, conflicts of interest.