Accountant Representation
A Professional Lifeline
We specialise in providing a full range of services to the accountancy profession. We are able to advise, assist and represent accountants on a whole range of issues.
About Cope's
We are closely associated with the Support Members Group of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and are a Defendant’s Friend. A member in practice with a problem would be urged to consult a Support Member in the first instance. Where the Support Member considers that the practitioner needs legal advice, he will refer the practitioner to a Defendant’s Friend, an Institute euphemism for a lawyer or accountancy expert. Chris Cope attends and occasionally lectures at the annual Support Members conference each autumn.
We also work closely with members of the accountancy profession, including David Young FCA, who retired a few years ago from the Professional Conduct Department of the ICAEW. David now practises as a consultant. We consult David from time to time with regard to technical matters.
We also work closely with Kingston Smith, forensic accountants, who provide us with expert evidence in technical and complex matters.
We are associated with Rochman Laudau, West End of London solicitors, with whom we work on complex litigation cases.
We have access to leading barristers’ chambers in London, whom we use for expert opinion and advocacy. We consult and instruct on a regular basis Christopher Aylwin (called to the Bar 1970) and Philip Newman (call to the Bar 1977).
We are presently acting for over 30 accountants who have a variety of problems, ranging from an application for readmission to membership to two separate appeals against exclusion from membership.
We are presently involved in complaint investigations, disciplinary and appeal proceedings and regulatory matters involving the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
In recent years, we have also represented the interests of accountants who are members of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Association of Authorised Public Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in addition to those bodies with whom we currently have cases.
About Chris Cope
Christopher Cope qualified as a solicitor in 1976. For the next seven years, he worked in the legal department of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales handling complaints and disciplinary cases. In 1984 he set up an advisory service for the accountancy profession, establishing Cope’s (solicitors) some 4 years later.
For the last 20 years, Cope’s have specialised in the problems encountered by professional accountants in relation to their practices. Chris has represented over 300 accountants before regulatory and disciplinary committees of the principal accountancy bodies, more than any other UK lawyer.
As a result of his expertise, Chris has been a member of the Academy of Experts since 1991.
In addition to his accountancy expertise, Chris handles a range of litigation matters, including civil and commercial disputes and debt recovery. Debt recovery is handled from our branch office in St Albans.
In his free time, Chris writes extensively on naval matters (having previously served six years in the Royal Naval Reserve) and is political editor of Warship World, widely regarded as Britain’s principal journal on current naval matters.
His principal hobby is music. He is organist at St James’ church in Kings Nympton in North Devon and is events coordinator of the Stanford Society, established in March 2007 to promote the music of the father of 20th century British classical music – Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.
Chris lives in North Devon with his wife, Susie, and dogs.
Accountants’ Defence & Advisory Services Ltd
In January 2004, Chris Cope acquired the Accountancy Defence Union Ltd which had been established since the early 1990s. This was renamed Accountants’ Defence & Advisory Services Ltd (Accountants’ Defence).
Accountants’ Defence provides a service to its subscribing members (all of whom are practising, qualified accountants) with regard to complaint, regulatory, disciplinary, appeal and practice problems.
Please visit www.accountantsdefence.co.uk for more information.