Madden and Ogle

AULOUS MADDEN, a former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) and auditor for the failed Century National Bank (CNB), has been told to stop practising for two years by the association, following the longest hearing into a complaint in its history.

The disciplinary committee of the ICAJ, chaired by leading accountant Philmore Ogle, has ordered that his certificate to practise be withdrawn and that an application for re-issue of the certificate should not be considered before the expiration of two years, according to a confidential document obtained by Wednesday Business.

Mr. Madden, senior partner at Aulous Madden and Company, has, however, lodged an appeal which is scheduled to be heard around mid-December.

The ICAJ 's proposed sanctions are the harshest handed down in its 34-year history. It is the first time the accounting body has proposed stopping a member and past president from practicing.

Mr. Madden said yesterday that the ICAJ has informed him of the order to withdraw his practising certificate for two years, but he did not want to comment further because it was being appealed and he "would not want to jeopardise the process".

Asked if he felt he would be exonerated at the appeal, Mr. Madden said: "I am confident that I have done honestly, professionally and with the utmost integrity, the work of an auditor."

ICAJ president, Patricia Hayle, declined to say what was the nature of the complaint made against Mr. Madden, pointing out that the order has not been made public, that it was sent in confidence to members, and that they have to give Mr. Madden an opportunity to be heard at the appeal.

Mrs. Hayle also said the order of the disciplinary committee has been put on hold, pending the outcome of the appeal.

But the order is the outcome of an almost two-year long complaints procedure, the longest and most expensive in the ICAJ's history.

Complaints against Mr. Madden were lodged by the temporary manager of the Century Financial Entities, acting as representative of the Minister of Finance and the Bank of Jamaica. Senior partner at Price Waterhouse Richard Downer, who was ushered in as temporary manager of the Century Financial Entities after Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Omar Davies took over the bank on July 10, 1996, also declined to comment.

The exact nature of the complaint remains unclear as neither side would comment. But as well as being Century auditor until shortly before it collapsed, a company Mr. Madden was closely associated with also had dealings with the institution.

Mr. Madden was also a major shareholder in Three Cs, which managed the 5,600-acre Lydford Farms in St. Ann, and which was placed into receivership in 1997 to recover a $33 million debt the company owed the National Commercial Bank (NCB). At the time, Mr. Madden also said Three Cs was indebted to CNB to the tune of more than $100 million. The Gleaner also reported him as saying that the debts resulted from high-interest costs. The latest news is likely to deal a substantial blow to the local accountancy profession, as Mr. Madden has been viewed as among the island's leading practitioners.

In 1996, Mr. Madden became the first Caribbean national to be elected to the international council of the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a position to which he was re-elected earlier this year.

He is a member of the board of Radio Jamaica, and was a member of the Integrity Commission of Parliament, which requires parliamentarians to disclose their assets, a former Commissioner of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), vice-president of the Public Accountancy Board, secretary of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, and ex-director of the National Investment Bank of Jamaica.

According to the document obtained by Wednesday Business, the ICAJ disciplinary committee has also ordered that an application for re-issue of the practising certificate should be accompanied by proof of Mr. Madden's having the benefit of eligible, structured guidance in: