THURROCK Council's finance officer, who led the authority into effective bankruptcy with debts of more than £1.5 billion has been damned by his peers after an investigation by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The FRC is the regulator for accountants and has effectively banned Sean Clark, the council's former chief finance offer from holding senior office and given him a severe reprimand.

It is the first time that the FRC has imposed sanctions on anyone working in local government finance.

Announcing the sanctions today (Thursday, 8 May) the FRC said Mr Clark would be excluded from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for five years and given a "severe reprimand". This means he could not be appointed as a chief financial officer at any other local authority.

Mr Clark left Thurrock in April 2023, although he was understood to have been suspended the previous autumn.

That was in the wake of the council declaring itself bust by issuing a section 114 in December 2022 over its £1.5bn debt, largely connected to investment in solar farms. Separately the council is taking legal action against Liam Kavanagh and Rockfire Capital Ltd for "deliberately misleading" the authority to inflate the value of investments.

The FRC's settlement agreement with Mr Clark concluded that he "fell significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected" including by not ensuring the council had the right skills to "pursue its 'debt for yield' approach".

Mr Clark co-operated with the investigation and admitted his conduct fell short. This included that he "recklessly provided misleading information to council members, and therefore to the public", according to the FRC.

No fine or contribution towards costs has been imposed on Mr Clark by the FRC due to his "existing financial resources and future employment prospects."

The FRC said the misconduct "was not dishonest or deliberate" and that Mr Clark "was not motivated by financial gain".

"Mr Clark has already suffered significant financial and personal consequences as a result of the events at the council and the resulting media attention," the settlement stated.

It did add: "Except in the case of the reckless provision of misleading information, which is reflected in the allegation of lack of integrity." 

Thurrock Council leader Cllr John Kent, who has repeatedly backed fruitless calls to the government for a full independent inquiry into what happened, said: "Thurrock residents rightly expect answers about the financial failures of the past, and so we welcome this report from the FRC, which identifies a number of failures by a former member of staff linked to the failed investments, which they say amounted to misconduct.

"We have worked hard to put things right at the council under government intervention, but where individuals were at fault, it is also right and proper that they are held to account."

In February, for the second time, the government rejected calls for an inquiry into what happened.