The Member was employed by an accounting firm (the “Firm”). Shortly after submitting their resignation, the Member downloaded confidential Firm information to a personal USB storage device.
The Member was subsequently contacted by the Firm regarding the material they had downloaded. In a meeting with the Firm’s staff, the Member provided a misleading oral statement regarding the volume of files they had downloaded to their personal USB storage device. The Member asserted that the downloading of confidential Firm information was unintentional.
The Investigation Committee determined that the Member contravened the following Rules of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct:
201.1 - Maintenance of the good reputation of the profession
202.1 - Integrity and due care
205(a) - False or misleading documents and oral representations
208.2 & 208.3 - Confidentiality of information
The Committee recommended that the Member:
- accept a reprimand;
- pay a fine of $5,000;
- pay investigation expenses of $2,664; and
- complete a course on privacy and maintaining confidentiality acceptable to the Director, Professional Conduct.