More Statutory bodies can now receive "whistle blowing reports"

With the issue of ethics having returned to the business world with the failure of the international banking system, you may be surprised to learn that there has only now been an extension to the UK accounting bodies of a statutory protection for whistleblowers.



With effect from 1 October 2009, the The Financial Reporting Council (FRC). and three of its Operating Bodies, the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB), the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP), and the Professional Oversight Board (POB), have been added to the list of bodies to which employees can responsibly disclose information under the “whistle blowing” provisions of the Employment Rights Act (1996).

"The Act protects workers from any detrimental treatment from their employer if, in the public interest, they make a disclosure of wrongdoing to specified bodies.

The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2009 means that individuals will now be protected if they make a qualifying disclosure in good faith to the FRC, the AADB, the FRRP and the POB – provided that they reasonably believe that the information disclosed is substantially true and that the wrongdoing falls within the scope of the FRC’s responsibilities.

FRC Chief Executive, Paul Boyle, welcomed the extension of the Act to the FRC and said: “The FRC’s effectiveness is enhanced by its ability to keep in touch with developments in the markets. We welcome this new protection for individuals who make disclosures to us within the terms of the legislation and we hope that it will encourage those who have information which may be relevant to our regulatory".

My thanks to the Association of International Accountants for bringing this development to my attention.