Case Study: Accountancy Student before the Taxation Disciplinary Board regarding use of AI.

Steve Roberts, Partner in our Professional Disciplinary team was instructed to represent an accountancy student in proceedings before the Taxation Disciplinary Board.

Background:

The accountancy student faced allegations that they had used AI in a prohibited manner during an examination and that this conduct was dishonest. The student admitted that they had used AI, but denied that this specific usage breached the relevant regulations.  

Our Approach:

This case involved a detailed review of the relevant regulations and a detailed understanding of the complex use of AI. 

Steve worked collaboratively with specialist counsel, Matthew Corrie, to prepare detailed arguments over what the student had actually done and what the specific wording of the regulations actually meant. It was argued that the student’s use of AI as a tool to assist with locating relevant information was not prohibited by the rules; as it was akin to using a google search (which also uses AI). It was argued that the prohibition in the relevant regulations was not relevant to the student as they had not used AI to generate an answer to the questions.

The Outcome:

Ultimately, it was agreed that the regulations at the relevant time lacked clarity and there was no prospect of successfully upholding the allegations and they were withdrawn by the Taxation Disciplinary Board. The student was successfully allowed to continue with their qualification.

The Future:

AI and it’s use in examinations is clearly an evolving area. It is likely that matters of this nature will continue to be considered by the regulators both in terms of bringing allegations against regulated individuals and in providing guidance and drafting regulations.