Italian Supreme Court expands professional liability for accountants

The Italian Supreme Court (Cassazione), through ordinance 21061/2026, has ruled that an accountant's duty of diligence extends beyond the mere registration of received data. The court established that professionals have a mandatory duty to monitor and report anomalies in client documentation, even when the client is responsible for preparing the invoices themselves.

The ruling follows a case involving a notary who, after changing software on an accountant's advice, incorrectly classified taxable costs as VAT-exempt expenses for several years. While the notary paid the resulting sanctions, she sought recourse against the accountant for failing to detect the error. Professional unions have expressed protest against the decision, arguing it excessively expands professional responsibility.