The whistleblower regulation that applies to Schuiteman Registeraccountants B.V. / Schuiteman Accountants & Adviseurs
General
Pursuant to Article 27 of the Accounting Bodies Regulation (Dutch: Verordening accountancy organisations, VAO) Schuiteman Registeraccountants B.V. and Schuiteman Accountants & Adviseurs B.V. (hereafter called ‘Schuiteman’) are required have a whistleblowers regulation in force. This Article reads as follows:
Art. 27 VAO
- The accountancy organisation has a regulation that ensures that persons from outside the accountancy organisation and persons working there or connected to it can raise alleged irregularities occurring within or (partly) outside the accountancy organisation without their legal position being jeopardised. This regulation ensures that complaints are recorded, handled confidentially and in good time and that the irregularities that are the subject of the complaint, if well-founded, are handled in good time by the introduction of appropriate measures by the accountancy organisation.
- The regulation referred to in the first paragraph is in any event posted on the website of the accountancy organisation. If the accountancy organisation has no website, it disseminates this regulation within the accountancy organisation in another manner and sends this regulation to persons outside the accountancy organisation, if requested.
Article 1: Definitions
- Schuiteman Registeraccountants B.V., Schuiteman Accountants & Belastingadviseurs B.V.;
- Person reporting: The individual who, whether or not employed by Schuiteman, carries out work for Schuiteman and reports an abuse under this regulation;
- Compliance officer: the person appointed to this role by Schuiteman’s board of directors. This is Mr W. van Reenen RA;
- Board of directors: Schuiteman’s board of directors, charged with the compliance and implementation of the regulation;
- Abuse: a suspicion based on reasonable grounds relating to Schuiteman and/or its employees, related to:
- An (imminent) offence;
- An (imminent) violation of legislation or regulations;
- An (imminent) case of deliberate misinformation;
- An (imminent) violation of rules, including rules of conduct, prevailing at Schuiteman or (the threat of) the destruction or manipulation of information about the above facts.
Article 2: Procedure
- The person reporting reports an abuse in writing to the compliance officer by sending an email to: complianceofficer@schuiteman.com. The person reporting can simultaneously make a report to his/her direct manager.
- The compliance officer records the report and confirms within five working days to the person reporting that the report has been received. The compliance officer immediately informs the board of directors of the report, unless the abuse concerns a member of the board of directors (see paragraph 5).
- The compliance officer safeguards at all times the anonymity of the person reporting, unless the person reporting releases the compliance officer of this duty in writing.
- Immediately upon receipt, the board of directors will start (or arrange to have started) an investigation into the abuse.
- If the abuse concerns a member of the board of directors, the compliance officer will himself/herself start (or arrange to have started) an investigation into the abuse.
Article 3: Timeframes
- Within a period of four weeks from the time at which the report is registered in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 2, the compliance officer is informed by or on behalf of the board of directors of the board of directors’ standpoint regarding the abuse as well as regarding the proposed measures.
- If it is not possible to give the standpoint within the timeframe stated in the first paragraph, Schuiteman’s board of directors will inform the compliance officer of this in good time and will state the timeframes in which a standpoint will be given.
- In the event of Article 2 paragraph 5 the compliance officer will formulate (have another formulate on his/her behalf) his/her own standpoint.
The compliance officer informs the person reporting of the standpoint immediately.
Article 4: Legal protection
- The report, the correspondence about it and its handling take place in complete secrecy and confidentiality, unless the person reporting releases the trusted representative of his/her duty of confidentiality.
- Schuiteman’s board of directors (or the compliance officer) guarantees employees who pass reports to the trusted representative under this whistleblowers regulation that the report shall in no way negatively impact his/her functioning within the accountancy organisation, or his/her career.
- If a person reporting has made the report in a manner not in accordance with this regulation or has given it publicity directly or via a third party, he/she may be held accountable for this.
Article 5: Effect and publication
- In consultation, the regulation can be amended.
- This regulation is published on Schuiteman’s website.
The report, the correspondence about it and its handling take place in complete secrecy and confidentiality, unless the person reporting releases the trusted representative of his/her duty of confidentiality.
Schuiteman’s board of directors guarantees employees who pass reports to the trusted representative under this whistleblowers regulation that the report shall in no way negatively impact his/her functioning within the accountancy organisation, or his/her career.