Reprimand Imposed on 22 May 2023
With the agreement of Mr David Buckett the Investigations Committee of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) issued him with a reprimand in respect of matters relating to an internal audit that he conducted for Bredhurst Parish Council for the year 2019/20.
The reprimand was imposed in respect of allegations before the Investigations Committee relating to his communications with the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).
In summary it is alleged that during the course of the internal audit that Mr Buckett failed to comply with the fundamental principles of the Code of Ethics in that he made various comments, and used language, in his private communications with the RFO in connection with the audit, including saying “I have gone for the jugular” and “putting the wind up some of the Cllrs”, which were unprofessional and fell below the standards expected of CIPFA Member.
By conducting himself in such a way the Committee was of the view that his actions could fall within Bye-Law 23. It considered that there was sufficient evidence of the facts and circumstances constituting a breach of Bye-Law 23 (c) – that he acted in such a way so as prejudicially to affect the status reputation or welfare of the Institute.
The Committee considered this as a one-off episode that occurred in the exceptional circumstances of the Covid pandemic. Mr Buckett had expressed remorse for his actions, had no previous CIPFA findings against him and the Committee was of the view that the conduct was unlikely to be repeated.
The Committee considered that a reprimand was sufficient to mark the seriousness of the matter.