The CA ANZ disciplinary bodies assess numerous complaints each year where relationships have turned sour. Rebecca Stickney and Kate Dixon, the professional conduct leaders in New Zealand and Australia respectively, offer some strategies to navigate challenging conversations and avoid acrimony and complaints.

Members in public practice

Building strong relationships in your public practice is one of the most important things you can do to avoid conflict with a client. Key to this is clear communication, managing expectations, and acknowledging and promptly addressing issues that might arise.

“We get many complaints about members not effectively handling challenging issues with clients,” says Stickney. “This can be due to the member avoiding the issue, discourtesy or mismanagement of the client’s expectations.”

Start the relationship well by getting a clear understanding of the client, what the engagement entails and the client’s expectations, and documenting these in an engagement letter, Stickney says.

“Inadequate or lack of engagement letters is a recurring issue in complaints and can lead to acrimony later if there is a dispute.”

“You need clarity around what you are being asked to do and who is giving you the instructions,” adds Dixon. “It’s also vital you are aware of, and communicate, the limits of what you can do.

“For example, with a family structure, while the member might regard them as one client, they’re actually all individual clients whose authority for the member to act must each be considered.”

Anticipating conflicts of interest and objectivity threats, and managing them per the codes of ethics, helps you prepare for and handle problems with clients.

“Being very clear with clients about any safeguards around objectivity threats and in what circumstances you might need to discontinue [the engagement] helps manage expectations,” says Dixon.

“It is not unethical to be firm or direct, however correspondence must be professional and courteous.”

If a problem occurs, raise it quickly with the client and maintain professionalism if there is a dispute. Stickney says clients should be informed promptly about issues such as costs exceeding a quote, work not being completed within agreed timeframes, unexpected or large tax bills and mistakes by the member or their staff.

“Most clients appreciate that mistakes or delays can happen or that the work is more involved than first anticipated. However, not front footing these issues is what leads to the problem escalating and complaints to CA ANZ,” she says.

If there is a dispute, members need to always behave professionally. Dixon urges members to consider the tone and content of strongly worded correspondence. “It is not unethical to be firm or direct, however correspondence must be professional and courteous.”

Trying to mediate the issue and find a compromise can be an effective way to resolve a problem. However, members need to be careful not to promise something they cannot deliver or agree to do something which is unethical, to appease the client.

“Additionally, if you are going to disengage, think through the implications for the client and communicate what those might be,” says Stickney. “For example, communicate the impact on extension of time arrangements, the risk of additional fees if a new practitioner starts mid-way through the year, the implications for transferring records, including any possessory liens, as well as any regulatory deadlines or requirements that may be affected. Don’t leave clients in the lurch.”

“Members need to have self-awareness about their professional obligations and the fortitude to say no, if they are being asked to do something that is outside of their skill set or unethical.”

Members in business

Difficult conversations may also arise for members in business and the professional conduct teams subsequently receive complaints about members in this sector.

“Having hard conversations with your employer is challenging. Understanding your ethical obligations and setting up good support networks can help you navigate these,” advises Dixon.

There can be pressure on members to help in areas for which they are unqualified and sometimes to do something which is unethical.

“Members need to have self-awareness about their professional obligations and the fortitude to say no, if they are being asked to do something that is outside of their skill set or unethical,” says Stickney.

She recalls a case where an employee in a finance team was asked to perform an audit of a related entity, which they were not qualified or competent enough to undertake, nor independent. “It was a scenario where the member should have been aware of their professional obligations and found a way to say no to their employer.”

Owning up to mistakes is another area that can be difficult for members to raise with their employer.

“While such conversations are challenging, adopting a ‘no surprises’ approach is the best approach. Some complaints involve members covering up mistakes which can lead to serious disciplinary consequences,” says Stickney.

Financial reporting is another area where members might be asked to cross the line.

“You might be asked by a senior executive to show a business is performing in a certain way which you think is not appropriate,” says Dixon. “You need to carefully analyse what your responsibilities are and consider if the request is ethical.”