C-26, r. 34 - Regulation respecting the indemnity fund of the Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec

Updated to 1 September 2012

This document has official status.

chapter C-26, r. 34

Regulation respecting the indemnity fund of the Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec

Professional Code

(chapter C-26, s. 89.1).

Implicitly revoked, 2012, chapter 11, s. 25, par. 1.

DIVISION I ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INDEMNITY FUND

1. The board of directors of the Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec is to establish an indemnity fund to reimburse to claimants any funds or property used by a member of the Order for purposes other than those for which they were entrusted to the member acting in a professional capacity.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 1.

2. The fund must be maintained at a minimum balance of $75,000. It particularly consists of

(1)  amounts allocated to the fund by the board of directors;

(2)  assessments fixed for that purpose;

(3)  amounts recovered from members under a subrogation or pursuant to section 159 of the Professional Code (chapter C-26);

(4)  revenue from and the growth of fund assets;

(5)  amounts that may be paid by an insurer under an insurance or reinsurance policy taken out by the board of directors;

(6)  amounts received by the Order for deposit into the fund;

(7)  interest and other income generated by the members’ general trust accounts.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 2.

DIVISION II RULES GOVERNING ADMINISTRATION AND INVESTMENTS

3. The board of directors of the Order manages the indemnity fund. It is authorized to take out an insurance or reinsurance contract for the purposes of the fund and to pay the insurance premiums out of the fund.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 3.

4. The accounting for the fund must be separate from the accounting for the Order.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 4.

5. The amounts making up the fund must be invested by the board of directors as follows:

(1)  the portion of the amounts that the board of directors intends to use on a short-term basis must be deposited in a financial institution regulated by the Act respecting Trust Companies and Savings Companies (chapter S-29.01), by the Banks Act (S.C. 1991, c. 46), by the Act respecting Financial Services Cooperatives (chapter C-67.3) or by the Trust and Loan Companies Act (S.C. 1991, c. 45);

(2)  the remaining portion must be invested in accordance with article 1339 of the Civil Code.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 5.

DIVISION III INDEMNITY PROCEDURE

6. To be receivable, a claim must be filed within 12 months from the time when the claimant becomes aware that funds or property have been used for purposes other than those for which they were entrusted to a member acting in a professional capacity.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 6.

7. The time limit provided for in section 6 may be extended by the board of directors if the claimant shows that it was impossible to file a claim within the prescribed time period due to reasons beyond the claimant’s control.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 7.

8. A claim in respect of a member may be filed whether or not a decision concerning the member has been rendered by the disciplinary council, the Professions Tribunal or any other competent tribunal.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 8.

9. A claim must

(1)  be made under oath and in writing;

(2)  set out all the facts in support of the claim and be accompanied by all relevant documents;

(3)  state the amount claimed.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 9.

10. Claims must be addressed to the secretary of the Order at its head office.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 10.

11. The secretary of the Order enters the claim on the agenda for the first meeting of the board of directors after the claim is received.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 11.

12. A request made to the Order for an inquiry with regard to facts likely to give rise to a claim against the fund is deemed to be a claim within the meaning of section 9 if the request for an inquiry is filed within the time period contemplated in section 6.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 12.

13. At the request of the person, the committee or committee member designated by the board of directors to conduct an inquiry in accordance with section 89.1 of the Professional Code (chapter C-26), the claimant or the member concerned must provide all details and documents relating to the claim.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 13.

14. The board of directors decides on a timely basis whether it is expedient to accept the claim in whole or in part and, where applicable, fixes the indemnity. Its decision is final.

Within 30 days of the decision, the indemnity is paid to the claimant, who must sign a discharge in favour of the Order.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 14.

15. The maximum indemnity payable from the fund for the period covering the financial year of the Order is set at $75,000 for all claims against a member.

Where the board of directors believes that claims in excess of that amount may be filed against a given member, it suspends the payment of indemnities until it has reviewed all claims concerning that member. The board of directors must

(1)  cause a notice to be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the location where the member has or had his or her professional domicile, inviting all persons to inform the Order of claims for which an indemnity is likely to be paid in accordance with this Regulation;

(2)  cause an inventory to be made of the funds or property entrusted to the member and notify in writing the persons likely to file a claim.

The maximum indemnity must be reviewed every 5 years from 8 December 2010.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 15.

16. The balance of a member’s general trust account, the funds of which have been blocked or otherwise disposed of in accordance with section 32 of the Regulation respecting trust fund accounting by certified management accountants of Québec (chapter C-26, r. 31) is distributed by the secretary of the Order, at the expiry of 60 days following the publication of a notice to that effect in a newspaper having general circulation in the location where the member has or had his or her professional domicile, among the claimants on a prorata basis according to the amounts of their claims allowed, up to the amount of the claim, less the indemnity fixed under section 14.

The secretary of the Order causes the notice to be published after one year has elapsed with no new claim having been filed against the member.

O.C. 945-2010, s. 16.

17. (Omitted).

O.C. 945-2010, s. 17.

REFERENCES

O.C. 945-2010, 2010 G.O. 2, 2990