During my talks on “How to avoid professional negligence claims (or worse)” I explain that sometimes the cause is wanting to be ‘too helpful’. In such cases the accountant unwittingly oversteps the mark due and renders themselves liable to prosecution – which is clearly worse than being subject to a negligence claim.

I was reminded of this when I saw a report last week of a case about an (unqualified) accountant from South Tyneside who was jailed for his part in a £2.24m loan scam.  Paul Robertson provided forged documents from his South Shields offices to mortgage broker Martin Watson. Mr Watson used this documentation to falsify over 20 application forms he submitted for unsuspecting clients. The loans in question amounted to around £2m and generated substantial commissions for Mr Watson.

Mr Robertson apparently asked his staff to produce pay slips and P60s for Mr Watson’s clients. When Mr Robertson heard that the police were investigating, he told staff they should deny ever having done this.

The report references the Judge’s acknowledgment that Mr Robertson had played a lesser role in the fraud and had been running his business successfully despite having no formal qualifications.  Apparently the judge told him: “You say you were fearful of your co-accused, but you did have a choice to refuse his requests for false documentation.”

I wonder how often accountants do what they can to help a client only to find that they have started down a slippery slope?