Chartered Professional Accountants (“CPAs”) are frequently asked to step into the role of executor or estate trustee. While it is understood that their professional skills lend itself well to the role, the CPA Ontario (the governing body for CPAs) makes clear that accepting such appointment requires a careful ongoing conflicts analysis.
Acting as an executor engages a CPA’s professional obligations under the CPA Code of Professional Conduct, and much like lawyers, there is a heightened regulatory and litigation risk if conflicts are not immediately identified, disclosed, and managed appropriately.
Executorship is a Professional Service
CPA Ontario treats acting as an executor or trustee as a professional service, even where performed without remuneration. The Code applies broadly to all activities where the public or clients are entitled to rely on CPA membership as a marker of competence, integrity, and objectivity.
This includes fiduciary roles involving control over property and decision‑making authority. As a result, CPAs must continuously assess whether their judgment could be influenced by competing interests.
The Accountant as an Executor
A CPA, in their capacity as executor, holds considerable influence over the financial direction of an estate or trust. As such, a thorough review of the rules is necessary prior to acting. The most direct conflict arises where a CPA provides assurance services to the client.
Rule 204.1 of the CPA Code defines assurance services/engagements as:
- to issue a written communication under the terms of an assurance engagement; or
(b) to issue a report on the results of applying specified auditing procedures;
Further, Rule 204.3 also provides that:
A member or firm who is required to be independent pursuant to Rule 204.1 shall, in respect of the particular engagement, identify threats to independence, evaluate the significance of those threats and, if the threats are other than clearly insignificant, identify and apply safeguards to reduce the threats to an acceptable level. Where safeguards are not available to reduce the threat or threats to an acceptable level, the member or firm shall eliminate the activity, interest or relationship creating the threat or threats, or refuse to accept or continue the engagement. [emphasis added].
The CPA Code makes it clear that it is a “fundamental principle” of accountancy that CPA Ontario Members who provide professional services shall do so with unimpaired professional judgment and objectivity. The operative language in Rule 204.3 captures this principle succinctly.
Even where the CPA provides only non‑assurance services, such as tax compliance, compilation, or advisory work, conflicts of interest remain a central concern.
CPA Ontario cautions that conflicts may arise where a CPA has existing or ongoing relationships with multiple beneficiaries, related entities, or family members who stand on different sides of the estate or trust. The executor’s fiduciary duty is owed to beneficiaries collectively, not to any individual client relationship.
The Standard of Proof
The CPA must consider whether a reasonable observer would conclude that such relationships could influence professional judgment. If a conflict exists, the CPA may proceed only where conflict management techniques are available, full disclosure is made to all affected parties, and informed consent is obtained.
Importantly, consent is not determinative. In many estates – particularly those involving blended families, historical grievances, or unequal distributions – conflicts may be impossible to manage effectively.
Litigation Takeaway
From an estates litigation perspective, conflicts involving professional fiduciaries are a frequent driver of disputes. Allegations of divided loyalties, preferential treatment, and compromised judgment commonly underpin applications for the passing of accounts, reduced compensation, or removal of an executor or trustee.
Courts scrutinize both actual conflicts and the appearance of impropriety. CPAs who accept fiduciary appointments without rigorously identifying, documenting, disclosing, and managing conflicts risk regulatory exposure under the CPA Code and becoming central adversaries in estate litigation.
Lawyers must be mindful of the CPA Code when proposing a CPA for an executorship. Due diligence requires a thorough examination of the CPA Code to screen for potential issues that may arise – or as dutiful counsel, pre-empt challenges from opposing parties.
Thanks for reading
David Morgan Smith and John Tuy (student-at-law)