Government agency promotes accountants as competition law experts
2 September 2015 By Chloe Smith
The Law Society has hit out at a plan by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to encourage accountants to advise their clients on law.
The CMA today published information which it says will help accountants ensure their clients are complying with competition law.
The body said that as accountants are trusted advisers for businesses of all sizes, they are ‘well placed’ to provide this sort of guidance.
But in response the Law Society said that specialised lawyers rather than accountants should provide legal advice.
A spokesman for the Law Society said: ‘Accountants provide valuable advice to businesses in the specific area of accountancy, but when it comes to the law, a specialised business solicitor can help identify legal problems and advise on what steps to take to prevent problems before they happen, which will protect businesses from risk and save money.'
To help accountants, the CMA has produced a '60-second summary' after working with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/government-agency-promotes-accountants-as-competition-law-experts/5050748.article