The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) has banned Kevin Fleiner of PJC Business Consulting from being a ‘Qualified Accountant’ for the purposes of MFR reporting.
Mr Fleiner is excluded from providing MFR Reports but can provide annual financial reporting services to building industry clients.
Queensland is the only jurisdiction in the nation where the building regulator requires licensees to submit annual financial reporting information.
The privacy and confidentiality requirements of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 prohibit the QBCC from disclosing information that does not appear on a publicly available QBCC register.
Accountants excluded under the QBCC Act appear on the register of excluded accountants.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, says financial reporting helps to provide reassurances about the financial wellbeing of a licensee, and an accountant’s role in preparing reports is an important one.
“Our strict financial reporting laws help protect industry members and home owners, so the QBCC carefully monitors information provided by accountants and takes exclusion action against accountants in appropriate cases,” Ms Levy says.
An accountant can be excluded by the QBCC if, within the previous three years, the accountant has:
- given information they knew to be false or misleading to a licensed contractor, or to the QBCC, in relation to a licensed contractor's satisfaction of the MFR, or
- failed to comply with the MFR in relation to information required to be given to the QBCC, or
- not complied with a requirement in a previous exclusion notice given to the accountant
The last time the QBCC excluded an accountant was in September 2020.
“We liaise regularly with accountants and their representative bodies to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities regarding MFR reporting and any other relevant legislation,” Ms Levy says
The QBCC provides regular educational newsletters to accountants and meets quarterly with leading accountancy organisations, the Institute of Public Accountants, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and Certified Practising Accountants.