The first round of an appeal by accountant Alan Hynes against a ruling excluding him from the institute of chartered accountants will be heard in private late next month.

Earlier this year, a disciplinary tribunal of the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board excluded him from the institute following a lengthy hearing.

In May, Mr Hynes confirmed that he planned to challenge the ruling and plans by an appeal tribunal to hold an initial hearing behind closed doors on January 26th.

Complaints from investors who lost more than €18 million on a number of his property ventures, including Tuskar Asset Management, sparked the original disciplinary hearing.