Registered with the FIC? That was the easy part. Now the real work begins. Too many firms think compliance is a once-off admin task, until an audit proves otherwise. FIC registration turns your practice into a permanently accountable institution, where every client, every transaction, and every employee decision carries regulatory risk. Here’s what every accountable institution needs to get right before the regulator comes knocking.

You did everything right. You qualified, complied, built a practice, earned client trust. Then a regulation told you no, not because you lack skill, but because the list was already full.

That moment triggers something familiar: defensiveness, frustration, disbelief. Not logic, instinct. The same instinct that freezes systems in time, protects incumbents, and treats new capability as a threat rather than a resource.

This article explores why Regulation 67 draws its line where it does, how that line affects real practices and real income, and why the tension you feel isn’t personal, it’s structural.

If you’ve ever been blocked by a rule that couldn’t justify itself, you’ll recognise this story immediately.

Most accountants don’t lose their practices because they’re incompetent. They lose them because they’re casual. Casual with scope. Casual with authority. Casual with documentation. And the law doesn’t forgive casual.

If you think “I’ve known this client for years” is protection, you’re already exposed. If your engagement letter hasn’t been touched since onboarding, you’re gambling. If half your advice lives in WhatsApps, voice notes, or favours you didn’t bill for, you’re not unlucky, you’re predictable.

This isn’t a comfort piece. It’s a mirror. And it might explain exactly how good accountants quietly lose everything.