CPA moves to stamp out member revolt

In a “special announcement” issued yesterday, the accounting association’s board of directors cautioned members that they may receive “unsolicited correspondence” after a particular member received access to the membership register, including name and postal address.

“It is with regret that we have released this information to the member, however we were legally obligated to do so under the Australian Corporations Act 2001,” the announcement stated.

“We are now concerned about the security of your personal information … we have made every effort to protect your personal information. For completeness, we have written to the Australian Privacy Commissioner and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to inform them about these circumstances.”

The board accuses the member of disseminating misinformation on the association’s performance, governance and remuneration structures and said it has received a number of complaints about this correspondence.

While the member in question is not named, the announcement follows the revelation that CPA member Brett Stevenson was successful in getting his hands on the member register in accordance with his legal rights.

Mr Stevenson confirmed to ifa sister title Accountants Daily last week that he received the register after forking out $2,351.16 from his own pocket, with support from other disgruntled CPA members.