Hello everyone, this is a message for my fellow professionals, the Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.

Specifically, those accountants who continue to incorporate companies on behalf of their clients, which is in breach of their code of professional conduct and is illegal to boot.

Now I've pulled this article out from the Chartered Accountants of British Columbia website, under code of professional conduct.

Under the Legal Profession Act, the “practice of law” includes “drawing, revising or settling a petition, memorandum, notice of articles or articles under the Business Corporations Act, or an application, statement, affidavit, minute, resolution, bylaw or other document relating to the incorporation, registration, organization, reorganization, dissolution or winding up of a corporate body … for or in the expectation of a fee, gain or reward, direct or indirect.”

Rule 213 of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct prohibits members and firms from associating with any unlawful activity. This includes breaching the Legal Profession Act.

Despite all this, I frequently see clients come in with companies that have been incorporated by accountants.

Is it worth it guys?

Is it worth doing an activity which is clearly prohibited by your professional body?

It's in breach of your professional conduct and it's illegal. So why are you incorporating these companies?

To make $100-$200?

Is that worth your professional reputation?

You're certainly not doing it in the best interest of your clients because the vast majority of the time I see these incorporated companies, they're done improperly. And it costs more to fix those mistakes than it does if we had incorporated those companies properly in the first place.

And if you need assistance with incorporations, we work with any number of accounting firms throughout British Columbia.

We're more than happy to work with you and/or your clients to incorporate companies the right way.

So stop the insanity, stop breaching your professional code of conduct, and give us a call if you need assistance with your incorporations.