Respondent AM

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Respondent AM, an experienced sole practitioner (admitted 1978) and the firm's COLP/COFA, admitted numerous SRA Accounts Rules and Principles breaches between 2015 and 2022, including failing to keep accounting records and reconciliations, failing to remedy issues flagged by reporting accountants, failing to keep client money separate (VAT), failing to deliver two consecutive Accountant's Reports, making costs transfers without billing, signing an SPA with clauses he could not fulfil, and failing to inform clients of the firm's sale. Allegations of lack of integrity (Principle 5) were withdrawn; no dishonesty was alleged or found. Dealt with on the papers by Agreed Outcome. The Tribunal rejected the parties' proposed bare 3-month suspension as insufficient and imposed a 3-month suspension plus indefinite practice restrictions, and ordered costs of £23,000.

Duties found breached:

• Disclose material information to client
• Segregate client money
• No improper use of client money
• Accounting records, reconciliation and reports
• Honour professional undertakings

Aggravating factors:

• Misconduct was repeated
• Misconduct continued over a number of years

Mitigating factors:

• Full co-operation with the SRA
• Frank and open admissions
• Conduct was inadvertent rather than deliberate
• No dishonesty or lack of integrity found
• No attempt to conceal wrongdoing
• Only one client suffered loss, as an indirect consequence after the firm's sale
• Reliance on a bookkeeper who died in 2018 and disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic