Complaint Process

 

Complaint process

How to make a complaint about an RPA member, affiliate, firm or student.

We can only help or get involved in your complaint if the individual is a member of the Society of Professional Accountants of Canada, student member, or if the accounting firm is regulated by us.

In many cases, problems can be resolved by talking to your accountant. If talking does not resolve the issues, you should write to your accountant and ask them to respond within 14 days. Occasionally, you may find you’re unable to resolve the problem, or that the nature of the issue(s) is such that you need to contact the SPAC for help.

Before you make a complaint

• Please check that the accountant or accounting firm is registered with The SPAC. The accountant must be an RPA, an affiliate of The SPAC, or a RPA student. Please check if the firm is regulated by SPAC or if the accountant is a RPA by visiting rpacanada.org to verify membership, or, you may contact SPAC at +1 877-515-4447.
• If your complaint relates to an audit, insolvency, investment business or legal services matter, you will need to follow a different process. Please see the relevant ‘my complaint relates to…’ section below.
• Please ensure you have copies of any relevant supporting letters and other documents. You will need to send these to us when you contact us about your complaint. We may not be able to help you if you don’t have documentary evidence to support your allegation.
• If your issue relates to a criminal matter, you should ask the police (or other relevant authority) to investigate it first. Please let us know you’ve reported the matter.
• Please seek legal advice straight away if you think you have a reason to make a civil claim. Do not wait until our investigation process has concluded.

How to make a complaint

So that we can review your complaint as quickly as possible, please provide as much information as possible in the complaint form. You will also need to send us all your documentary evidence with the complaint form. Please email your completed form and evidence to us at [email protected]. Please be aware that as a part of the investigation process, details of the complaint must be disclosed to The SPAC member, the accounting firm, or the student member who is the subject of the complaint. If you are not able to email the documents, please send your completed form and documentary evidence to [email protected]

 

RPA Complaint-form