A Yellowknife accountant is asking the NWT Supreme Court to place a hold on a hearing into the Town of Norman Wells’ complaint against him.
The town filed a complaint against EPR Yellowknife Accounting Professional Corporation – and its president, Biswanath Chakrabarty – to Chartered Professional Accountants NWT/Nunavut, or CPA NWT/NU, in September 2023.
The regulatory body for professional accountants in the territories decided in November 2025 to proceed with a disciplinary hearing.
Chakrabarty is now asking the court for an injunction preventing that hearing from proceeding. He also wants the court to set aside the regulatory body’s decision to hold the hearing.
The Town of Norman Wells’ complaint is related to an investigation into the town’s payroll and corporate credit card use from November 1, 2015 to October 1, 2018. The NWT government hired EPR to conduct that investigation.
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Both town and territorial officials have publicly described EPR’s investigation report as a forensic audit.
The town relied on the report in a since-abandoned lawsuit against its former senior administrative officer, Catherine Mallon.
Mallon filed a separate, earlier complaint against EPR and Chakrabarty to CPA NWT/NU in April 2022. Mallon alleged the accounting firm had failed to explain its report was a review, rather than an audit, and failed to correct town officials who “misconstrued and misrepresented” the report as an audit.
EPR said that first complaint was resolved through mediation. The company issued a press release in November 2022 stating its report was not an audit and apologizing to Mallon.
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EPR claims it was unable to perform the investigation to an audit level as the NWT government limited its access to documents, information and witnesses.
The Town of Norman Wells’ 2023 complaint, Chakrabarty said, covers issues already dealt with following Mallon’s complaint. In a court filing, he said the conclusion of that first complaint should have been the final decision on the matter.
EPR and Chakrabarty have separately filed lawsuits against the Town of Norman Wells seeking a total of $26.6 million in damages, alleging the town’s complaint has caused the accountant and firm reputational harm.
Chakrabarty is expected to present his application seeking an injunction to the court on Friday. CPA NWT/NU has yet to formally respond.
