Trust accounting and indemnity fund
Trust accounting
The Regulation respecting trust accounting by chartered accountants and the indemnity fund of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec (Regulation) came into effect on February 14, 2007. By adopting this Regulation, the profession wished to better protect the public when sums of money or other property are entrusted to a chartered accountant.
The scope of the Regulation is twofold and affects:
- CAs who administer, against remuneration or without charge, a property or group of properties belonging to a third party; and
- CAs who hold property entrusted by a third party.
The Regulation concerns in particular the following activities:
- Administering a not-for-profit organization
- Holding sums of money or other securities during the sale of assets or shares for clients
- Outsourcing payroll services
- Paying income taxes, taxes or other levies
- Acting as receiver, liquidator, trustee, liquidator of a succession, mandatary in an incapacity mandate or proxy.
Principal obligations of CAs who accept to hold or administer funds or property for a third party
- Enter into a contract that clearly defines the transaction to be concluded
- Take the necessary measures to ascertain that such transaction is legal
- Deposit all funds being held, immediately after receipt thereof, in a general or special trust account, as the case may be
- Submit, without delay, to the Ordre as well as to the financial institution where the trust account is opened the applicable duly completed form:
A member wishing to close a trust account must fill out the form below and return it to the Ordre:
General trust account: an account opened in the name of one or several CAs or of the partnership or joint-stock company within which the CA practices his profession, in which are deposited funds that do not belong to the CA and for which the CA has waived his rights to the interest in favour of the Ordre.
Special trust account: an account opened on behalf of a client requiring such account and in which are deposited the funds and interest belonging to the client. There are also special consolidated accounts, i.e. having the same characteristics as special accounts, but that are opened in the name of the firm or joint-stock company.
- To make the process of opening trust accounts easier, the Ordre has entered into agreements with several major financial institutions (see question 5 of the FAQ for a listing of the establishments).
Responsibilities of CAs who hold or administer property for a third party
- Adequately control the accounts and properly document the control and administration of accounts
- Keep accounting records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
- Protect data confidentiality
- Return all unclaimed inactive accounts to the Ministère du Revenu du Québec
- Give the Ordre access to all information upon request
Reporting to the Ordre
Based on the information submitted each year by members in the Collection of information questionnaire, the Ordre updates its list of chartered accountants who are directly affected by the application of the Regulation. All members who have indicated that they administer or hold property for a third party in section 4 of the Collection of information questionnaire must duly complete a paper or electronic copy of the Accountability report and return it to the Ordre by March 31st.
| Notice |
| Additional content on the Accountability Report is only available to members of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec. Please click here to have access. |
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Powers of the Ordre
Where a member fails to comply with the provisions of this Regulation, or is found to be in violation during an inspection, the Ordre may:
- Request and obtain from the financial institution or investment dealer all the information or explanations that are necessary or useful for purposes of the Regulation
- Block the funds deposited
- Take charge of the administration of funds or property
- Appoint a person to audit the trust accounting records of a member or former member
Indemnity Fund
The Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec has an Indemnity Fund to be used solely to repay the amounts of money or other securities used by a member for purposes other than those for which they had been delivered to him in the practice of his profession, particularly in the case of fraud or misappropriation of property or funds.
The Indemnity Fund Committee assesses all claims submitted under the Regulation respecting trust accounting by chartered accountants and the indemnity fund of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec and makes recommendations to the Ordre's Executive Committee.
The maximum indemnity payable from the Fund is set at $80,000 per claim and $300,000 for all claims in respect of a same member.
A claim to the Indemnity Fund must be submitted in writing to the President and CEO of the Ordre. It must clearly state the facts supporting the claim, indicate the amount claimed, include a photocopy of all relevant documents and be made under oath. The claim must be filed within 12 months from the time the claimant is aware of the facts giving rise thereto.
Questions?
You can find answers to your questions in the FAQ.
For more information, you may contact us by e-mail at redditiondecomptes@ocaq.qc.ca or by phone at 514 982.4600 or toll free 1 800 363.4688, ext. 4600.
