Alan Hynes: part of appeal against barring to be public

Part of the first round of accountant Alan Hynes’ appeal against a ruling barring him from the profession will be heard in public after a number of parties objected to the original proposal that it take place behind closed doors.

Earlier this year, a tribunal of the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board excluded him from the Institute of Chartered Accountants following a lengthy hearing sparked by complaints from investors who lost more than €18 million on a number of his property ventures.

Mr Hynes is challenging the ruling and is due before the board’s appeal tribunal next Tuesday for a case management hearing that was due to be heard in private until some of those who made the original complaints against him objected.

The tribunal is now proposing a compromise under which Hynes and his representatives will meet the regulatory board’s side in private to resolve any oustanding matters regarding the running of the appeal, but inform the tribunal’s chairman of their decision in public.

Both sides will appear before the appeal chairman in public on Tuesday and will then hold the case management hearing in private. Once they have completed this, they will return and outline what they have decided in public to the chairman.

In a letter to aggrieved investors, disciplinary panel registrar Margaret Penny said the hearing would not receive evidence or submissions, but had been called to facilitate the efficient hearing of the actual appeal.