iSoft directors banned for their part in accounting scandal

Timothy Whiston and John Whelan banished by the Institute of Chartered Accountants

Two directors of UK software group iSoft, Timothy Whiston and John Whelan, have been banned by the Financial Reporting Council from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for eight years for their part in an accounting scandal that is almost a decade old.

It follows a disciplinary hearing in which it was alleged that a £43m deal with the Irish health service had been booked before the contract had even been finalised.

However, a trial of the two directors in 2013, brought by the Financial Conduct Authority, was abandoned over procedural errors.

"The FCA's claim that they had conspired to present a misleading picture of iSoft's financial health for personal gain was abandoned, with the jury discharged and not guilty verdicts recorded against all four men," reported the Daily Telegraph.

The Financial Reporting Council, though, said that the two software company directors had admitted that they had "failed to meet the standards required of them and they had breached the 'fundamental principle of integrity' required of accountants", according to the Telegraph.

The Council claims that the pair had failed to meet the standards by "recklessly" allowing the company to recognise £22m in revenues from the unsigned contract, as well as four similar breaches in the company's accounts.

Both men agreed to the ban, and Whiston also agreed to pay £50,000 in costs to the Institute.