Nilesh Bhikha has been struck off as an accountant after spending almost $7000 of Surf Life Saving NZ's money on his own purchases. Photo / LinkedIn
Nilesh Bhikha has been struck off as an accountant after spending almost $7000 of Surf Life Saving NZ's money on his own purchases. Photo / LinkedIn
A former Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) finance manager was sacked after spending thousands of dollars on personal fuel, booze and salad dressing using the charity’s credit card.
Now Nilesh Kumar Bhikha has also been struck off as an accountant.
The charity’s chief executive said the conduct of its former employee was extremely disappointing and took away from the clubs and volunteers tasked with keeping New Zealanders’ water safe.
Bhikha used $6747 of charity money on spending, including buying almost $4600 worth of petrol and a $949 Koru Club membership.
Much of the remainder of the money was spent at supermarkets in multiple transactions. One of the transactions was almost entirely for alcohol - three boxes of beer and five bottles of wine.
Another transaction was for the purchase of four bottles of salad dressing and two bottles of milk.
Bhikha appeared before the Institute of Chartered Accountants Disciplinary Tribunal in October to face a penalty hearing. He represented himself.
According to the charging documents, Bhikha had been registered as a chartered accountant since 2019.
His time at SLSNZ began in 2021 when he was contracted to provide services for the charity’s northern region. He later became the full-time finance manager for the same region in April last year.
The charity soon became aware of Bhikha’s unauthorised spending. In April this year he was sacked after an employment investigation. The money spent was deducted from holiday pay he was owed.
Bhikha was sacked from SLSNZ after an employment investigation. The charity then made a complaint to the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Photo / 123RF
An SLSNZ representative then filed a complaint with the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The institute’s professional conduct committee (PCC) laid two charges - one of misconduct and one of breaching the institute’s code of ethics. Bhikha pleaded guilty.
During the tribunal hearing, Bikha “continued to minimise his conduct”, chairwoman Rachael Reed KC wrote in her decision.
Bhikha said another employee had given him the credit card he used, he believed he had authority to purchase the Koru Club membership, and there was a miscommunication with his boss over matters leading to the conduct.
“The tribunal took his comments during the employment process and the tribunal hearing as being no more than an attempt to mitigate his conduct rather than deny it,” Reed wrote.
“There was clear and cogent evidence of his repeated dishonesty for his own personal benefit.”
The PCC sought an order that Bhikha be removed from the accountants’ register, but Bhikha himself said a period of suspension was a fairer outcome.
Reed said suspension was ordinarily reserved for one-off cases of dishonesty. Bhikha’s conduct, which involved a pattern of dishonesty, meant removal from the register was reasonable and proportionate.
Bhikha was struck off and ordered to pay $7744 in tribunal costs.
He also sought name suppression, saying he would suffer from humiliation and embarrassment. NZME opposed suppression.
Reed ruled the threshold for suppression was not reached as humiliation was a natural consequence of the conduct.
SLSNZ chief executive Steve Fisher said Bhikha was terminated once the organisation learned of his spending.
“As a charity, every dollar we receive is precious, and we are extremely disappointed in the actions of a single former employee given our integrity and the hard-earned reputation of the organisation which, through our clubs and volunteers, has been saving lives across the motu for over 110 years.”
Ethan Griffiths covers crime and justice stories nationwide for Open Justice. He joined NZME in 2020, previously working as a regional reporter in Whanganui and South Taranaki.
