In order to resolve disciplinary proceedings before a Panel of CPABC’s Disciplinary Committee concerning professional misconduct alleged against him, Allan Barry Ames of North Vancouver, British Columbia has agreed to the voluntary suspension of his membership in the Organization of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (“CPABC”) and the voluntary suspension of public practice licensure for a period of 14 months, commencing on January 8, 2024.
The professional misconduct alleged against Mr. Ames includes several breaches of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia’s Rules of Professional Conduct, a breach of the British Columbia Chartered Professional Accountants Act, and numerous breaches of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct, including borrowing from a complainant, soliciting or facilitating a loan from a client, failing to oversee accounting and other corporate records for two companies engaged in a vehicle sales and leasing business which he was involved in, failing to confirm the filing of corporate tax returns for the companies involved in the vehicle sales and leasing business, entering into loan agreements with a third party as a director on behalf of one of the companies in the vehicle sales and licensing business at a time when the company had been de-registered and dissolved due to his failure to oversee the filing of an annual report for this company, failing to adequately comply as required by CPABC to change the name of his firm in order to ensure it did not mislead the public by implying that there was more than one CPA working there, and failing to cooperate with CPABC’s regulatory processes by failing to provide sufficient information and documents in a timely manner as requested by CPABC’s Investigator and making numerous inaccurate and misleading statements to the Investigator and to CPABC’s Investigation Committee.
Mr. Ames has admitted to the above allegations that CPABC has made against him, and has also agreed to pay $35,000.00 towards CPABC’s costs of the disciplinary proceedings it has incurred to date.
During the period of the voluntary suspension of Mr. Ames’ membership in CPABC and voluntary suspension of public practice licensure, he cannot use or display the designations “Chartered Professional Accountant”, “Chartered Accountant”, or “Professional Accountant”, the initials “CPA”, “CA”, “CPA, CA”, or “PA”, in any manner imply, suggest, or hold out that he is a Chartered Professional Accountant or Professional Accountant, or engage in providing or offering to provide public accounting services or other regulated services to the public.
Jennifer Nga Thai, of Surrey, British Columbia, has been the subject of a disciplinary proceeding commenced against her by the Organization of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (“CPABC”) before a Panel of the Disciplinary Committee concerning alleged professional misconduct.
While on August 3, 2022, the Registrar of CPABC cancelled Ms. Thai’s membership in CPABC as a result of her failure to pay fees and dues established by the Board of CPABC, the disciplinary proceeding is currently ongoing.
The professional misconduct alleged against Ms. Thai involves numerous breaches of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct, including misappropriating the amount of $315,713.14 from her former employer through the use of electronic funds transfer payments that were misdirected to her personal bank accounts, and manipulating and altering corporate records of the former employer in order to conceal her misappropriation. Ms. Thai has paid full restitution of the misappropriated amount of $315,713.14 to her former employer.
Ms. Thai has irrevocably admitted to all the allegations that CPABC has made against her.
In order to resolve the disciplinary proceeding, Ms. Thai has undertaken not to apply for reinstatement of her membership in CPABC before, at the earliest, November 28, 2025.
As a result of the cancellation of Ms. Thai’s membership in CPABC, she cannot use or display the designations “Chartered Professional Accountant”, “Certified General Accountant”, or “Professional Accountant”, the initials “CPA”, “CGA”, “CPA, CGA”, or “PA”, or imply, suggest, or hold out that she is a Chartered Professional Accountant or Professional Accountant.