Former District of Sechelt chief financial officer Victor Mema had his certified public accountant (CPA) designation lifted by the Alberta association, which originally issued it.
A statement released by the Chartered Public Accountants of Alberta outlined the orders handed down by its discipline tribunal on March 4 regarding Mema’s actions while employed with both Sechelt and the City of Nanaimo. The tribunal found Mema “guilty of unprofessional conduct” for violating Alberta’s Chartered Professional Accountants Act and the “regulations, by-laws, and Rules of Professional Conduct” for its members.
According to the statement, Mema failed to carry out his duties as the head of Sechelt’s finance department with “integrity and due care”. That decision was issued in relation to his use of a local government corporate credit card for not less than $7,743.29 of unauthorized personal expenses. In addition, the ruling said he failed to submit reports on his corporate credit card use in a timely manner and that he failed to promptly reimburse those expenses when his employment with the District ended in 2015.
Financial impacts
Along with loss of the professional designation, Mema was fined and ordered to pay a portion of complaint review costs and investigation costs. Along with reimbursing Sechelt for funds misappropriated in 2014 and 2015, he has been ordered to repay the City of Nanaimo for $14,148.97 of unauthorized personal expenses that he incurred when employed there after he left the Sunshine Coast.
The fine imposed was $30,000 and is to be paid within 12 months of being served with the statement of the decision. The disciplinary action by the Alberta group was launched in November 2019, and followed a process that included two appeals by Mema, who was employed by the District of Sechelt from May 2012 until August 2015.
