Carlo Celisano

Member's name: Mr Carlo Celisano CPA
Date of Hearing: 24 August 2020
Division: Western Australia
Tribunal: Disciplinary Tribunal

On 24 August 2020 the Disciplinary Tribunal found the Member breached Article 39(a)(ii)(A) of the 14 May 2019 Constitution (“the Constitution”) in that Mr Celisano had, “breached this Constitution (or the constitution of the Company in force immediately before the Amending Date), By-Laws, Code of Professional Conduct or the Applicable Regulations”, in that he failed to comply with the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (APES 110), a Code of Professional Conduct issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board effective 1 January 2018:

1. “by failing to provide financial documents for three clients (the clients) to their new accountant in a timely manner contrary to sections 100 and 130 of APES 110
2. “by failing to exercise independence as an auditor by auditing the financial records of the clients' self-managed super funds (SMSF) that were prepared by staff of his firm contrary to sections 100, 120, 200 and 220 of APES 110
3. by failing to provide appropriate advice to the clients in relation to the transfer balance cap (Cost Base Reset of 30 June 2017) contrary to sections 100, 130 and 150 of APES 110.

Mr Celisano attended the Disciplinary Tribunal Hearing and admitted the Complaints.

Penalty and costs

The Disciplinary Tribunal found the Complaints sustained and imposed the following penalties:

Complaints 1:

• a severe reprimand.

Complaints 2:

• a severe reprimand
• a fine of $5000
• successful completion of the Ethics and Governance Segment of the CPA Program or its equivalent, to the satisfaction of the General Manager Professional conduct (GMPC) by 30 June 2021. A failure to successfully complete the segment by the due date to result in forfeiture of Membership
• undertake and successfully complete a Quality Review in the next review cycle at the members own cost.

For Complaint 3:

• severe reprimand
• a fine of $10,000.

Mr Celisano was ordered to pay CPA Australia's costs of $2234.55.