Ex-finance officer barred from accountancy

The former chief finance officer of a council that went effectively bankrupt has been banned from working in local accounts again.

Sean Clark resigned from his role in January 2023 at Thurrock Council, leaving them with a £1.5bn debt.

He has been barred from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for at least five years by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The FRC report said Mr Clark had "recklessly provided misleading information to council members, and therefore to the public".

The council's debts started adding up after a series of failed investments, largely in solar farms.

In 2022, the authority declared itself as effectively bankrupt.

Under Mr Clark's watch, Thurrock Council had approved an investment strategy, borrowing on a short-term basis, primarily from other local authorities

Those funds were then used to make longer-term commercial investments, which eventually exceeded £1bn - more than six times the council's annual budget.

In order to pay off some of the debt, the council had to sell investments, which included interests in solar farms. It also increased council tax by 9.99% in 2023.

The former finance officer said "conduct fell significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected of a member of the ACCA", according to the report.

Labour councillor John Kent, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: "Thurrock residents rightly expect answers about the financial failures of the past.

"We welcome this report from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which identifies a number of failures by a former member of staff linked to the failed investments, which they say amounted to misconduct."

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