Satisfied clients and relations are of the essence for Wolting & Versteegh B.V. If you’re not happy about our level of services, you can guarantee we aren’t either. So we’d like to hear about your discontent as soon as possible and work with you to reach a valid and professional solution. After all, we consider a complaint as a new opportunity. You can find the current, comprehensive complaint mechanism below.
Complaint mechanism
Do you have a complaint?
This might be a cliché, but much discontent, and many complaints, can be eliminated by a solid heart-to-heart. So we emphatically invite you to go ahead and contact the person at the root of your discontent or complaint. If you’re more comfortable with it, you can also contact their supervisor.
If this discussion doesn’t yield the results you were hoping for, we appreciate if you would be so kind as to communicate your complaint to our complaints official, Mr F. van der Stelt RA. He can be reached on 00 31 (0)45 – 542 5511, or through e-mail at ferry.vanderstelt@wolting.nl.
Complaints will be picked up by the complaints official, who will start by investigating it. Within 14 weeks at the latest after the complaint was filed, he will communicate his evaluation to you, as well as the follow-up to it. You can communicate the complaint to the Management (on 00 31 (0)45 – 542 5511) in case you do not agree with the evaluation of the complaints official.
Wolting & Versteegh B.V. does hope that you understand that there are some complaints that we cannot process. We do not, for example, accept complaints that have previously been processed already, or those that are pending in Court.
Confidential
The contents of complaints or other communications falling under this arrangement will be treated with confidentiality by Wolting & Versteegh B.V., its staff, and all other parties involved.
1.1 Definition of terms
In this procedure the following definitions will be applicable:
a. accountancy organisation: a company or institutions that professionally carry out legally prescribed controls, or an organisation in which such companies or institutions are associated;
b. direction: the Board meeting or other decisional organ of our accountancy organisation that establishes policies and makes decisions with regards to all matters involving our accountancy organisation;
c. ‘Bta’: ‘Besluit toezicht accountantsorganisaties’, Legal Decree on scrutiny of accountancy organisations;
d. partner: someone with the authority to sign contracts on behalf of the accountancy organisation regarding assignments in the field of professional services;
e. collaborator: all people that carry out activities within the framework of an employment or other types of contracts, and that are involved in the execution of assignments of our firm;
f.network: the collaborative structure of our firm, including the accountancy organisation, in conformity with the definition in the ‘Bta’;
g. complaint: a written expression of discontent regarding the behaviour of a partner or collaborator of our accountancy organisation, or of an individual that is active at a firm that is part of the network our accountancy organisation is associated with;
h. complainant: the submitter of a complaint;
i. commission: the complaints commission as intended in item 3;
j. compliance officer: the official as intended in item 4;
k. secretary: the official as intended in item 3;
l. complaints assistant: the official as intended in item 10.
1.2 Responsibility direction
The direction is responsible for treatment, registration, and publication of complaints regarding partners and collaborators of our accountancy organisation, as well as of those about individuals that are employed by a firm that is part of the network our accountancy organisation is associated with.
1.3 Complaints commission
a. The direction may appoint a complaints commission, either for a specific complaint, or permanently.
b. The complaints commission counts at least two independent (i.e. not in any way linked to the complaint) members that are employed by or connected to our accountancy organisation. This commission counts at least one member of the direction.
c. The direction appoints a member of the Board as the president, and a secretary.
d. The commission is charged with the treatment of and providing advice to the direction on complaints that were impossible to resolve through discussions with the complainant, or through mediation.
e. In case the advice applies not to take into consideration a complaint, the commission will charge the president with formulating recommendations.
f. The commission may, whether on request or unsolicited, give the direction advice on the treatment of a complaint, or on matters that are not explicitly included in a complaint but are still relevant, and also on matters open to complaint that the commission is aware of.
g. The commission may establish further rules for its methods in a set of internal regulations.
1.4 Compliance officer
The direction will appoint a compliance officer to coordinate the complaints processing, the registration of all submitted complaints, the procedural and substantive evaluation, and the generation of management information.
1.5 Submitting a complaint
a. Complaints must be submitted in writing, signed, and including at least the following:
* name and address of submitter;
* date;
* a clear description of the behaviour the complaint is directed at.
b. Complaints that are communicated orally, may be put to paper by the partner or collaborator of our accountancy organisation that interviews the complainant on the latter’s request, and forward it to the direction.
1.6 Confirmation of receipt complaint
a. The compliance officer will make sure the submitter of a complaint, or the person whose orally related complaint has been put to paper, will receive a confirmation of receipt by the direction within a week, as well as information about the procedure that the treatment of the complaint will follow. In case a complaint is submitted to the commission for advice, the direction will communicate as much to the complainant as soon as possible.
b. If a complaint does not live up to the standards as listed in item 5, the complainant will be invited within two weeks after reception of such to resolve the inadequacies within the next two weeks.
c. It is not possible to submit complaints anonymously.
d. If the complainant does not proceed to resolve the inadequacies within the mentioned two-week term, the direction may decide not to take the complaint into consideration. The complainant will be informed of this within two weeks after passing of the deadline of two weeks intended for this purpose.
1.7 Complaints that regard other components of the network
a. If a complaint isn’t merely pertinent to the functioning of a partner or collaborator that belongs to our accountancy organisation, but also to a partner or collaborator of another component of the network, the direction must submit the complaint to the direction of that particular organisation.
b. In consultation with the direction of the relevant organisation it will be decided how the further treatment of the complaint will be conducted. The direction of our accountancy organisation will inform the complainant and the direction of the network about this.
c. If the direction of the network decides to take on the further handling of the complaint, it will inform all involved of such a step.
1.8 Handling of complaints
a. Within two weeks after reception of a complaint, there will be a consultation with complainant. This consultation serves to establish, amongst other things, whether the complaint could be handled through mediation, and to establish to what extent the complaint is open to further processing.
b. Conducting consultation, as intended in the previous item, can be waived if the direction considers it not to be useful in the case at hand.
c. When consultation or mediation lead to a solution that satisfies the complainant, the complaint will not be further processed. The complainant and the individual the complaint regards will be informed in writing about the termination of the processing of the complaint.
d. In those cases where consultation with complainant or mediation do not lead to gratification of complainant, processing of the complaint will proceed.
1.9 Handling and advice by commission
a. In case handling of the complaint must be continued, the direction will consider to nominate a temporary commission for this purpose. The direction will inform the commission on all matters pertaining to the complaint, and will propose the commission a deadline before which advice about the handling of the complaint must be issued.
b. The commission will report to the direction before the established deadline.
c. If, during handling by the commission, further information comes forward, the direction will forthwith notify the commission of such.
d. All partners and collaborators involved in the handling of complaints are under the obligation of secrecy.
1.10 Handling of internal complaints
a. When a complaint is filed by an internal official, all officials involved in the handling of the complaint will be obligated to prevent that any suspicions about the identity of internal complainants are possible to occur.
b. If desired, the internal complainant may refer to a complaint assistant that will be appointed by the direction or by the compliance officer.
c. The direction and the complaint assistant will make sure that the complainant, the members of the commission, and other possibly involved individuals, will not be damaged in their (legal) position within the accountancy organisation through the handling of complaints.
d. The commission has as its task to inform, within three to six months after handling a complaint, whether the complainant, the complaint assistant and/or other individuals involved have not suffered negative effects consequent to the submitted complaint.
e. Unless otherwise arranged with complainant, information regarding the complaint will not be included in that person’s personnel file.
1.11 Adjournment
If the direction does not succeed in processing a complaint within ten weeks, or, in case the complaint was submitted to the commission for handling and advice within fourteen weeks, after reception of the complaint, it will make sure that the complainant and the person the complaint regards will receive notice of such adjournment before passing of the relevant deadline.
1.12 Judgement direction
a. The direction will inform the complainant, in writing and in a substantiated manner, of the findings of the investigation into the complaint, as well as of the possible conclusions it has reached.
b. When other network organisations are involved in the complaint, the direction will also forward a copy of its letter of settlement to those.
1.13 Registration of complaints
The direction will make sure that each written complaint is registered. In this registration will be listed:
* name and address of the submitter of the complaint;
* date;
* a description of the behaviour the complaint is directed at.
Furthermore, information will be included regarding the way it was submitted, and concerning the handling and settlement of the complaint, about process duration, and – if applicable – about the judgement of the direction regarding measures that were possibly taken in response to the complaint. To the extent that the commission has provided advice about the complaint, this advice will also be included in the registration.
1.14 Internal publication
The direction will make sure that the registered information as intended in the previous item, will be annually published in an organised, and anonymised, manner. This publication will be joined by an elaboration indicating the extent to which certain complaints are indicative of structural shortcomings in the functioning of our organisation, and in which the possible measures to eliminate the signalled bottlenecks will be addressed.
1.15 Execution arrangement and mandate
a. For the purpose of a careful, effective, and efficient execution of the handling of complaints, the direction may establish further arrangements for the execution of the complaints mechanism.
b. The direction may decide to transfer all powers necessary for an effective and efficient handling of complaints – to the extent that those are not exercised by the commission – by mandate to daily management.
c. The compliance officer will be charged by the direction with the monitoring of the execution of the complaints mechanism.
1.16 Quote title
This procedure can be referred to as: complaints mechanism.
1.17 Date of entry into force
The present arrangement substitutes the complaints mechanism dated 9 July 2008, and will enter into force on 18 March 2015.