PCAOB Sanctions Accounting Firms for Reporting Failures

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") sanctioned three accounting firms for reporting failures.

In one Order, the PCAOB found that an accounting firm violated PCAOB Rule 2200 ("Annual Report") after indicating on a Form 2 that it had "not played a substantial role" in the auditing process for a particular issuer. The PCAOB stated that a Form AP filed by another accounting firm contradicted this Form 2. The PCAOB stated that despite four separate notifications by the Division of Registration and Inspections of the inaccurate information, the accounting firm did not file an amended Form 2 until receiving a notice of deficiency from the PCAOB Division of Enforcement and Investigations. To settle the charges, the firm agreed to (i) a censure, (ii) pay a civil money penalty of $35,000 and (iii) undertake remedial measures outlined in the Order.

In a second Order, the PCAOB found that an accounting firm violated Rule 2200 after falsely reporting that it had not issued any audit reports for any broker-dealer during a specific reporting period. The PCAOB determined that SEC filings indicated that the accounting firm had, in fact, issued an audit report for a broker-dealer. To settle the charges, the firm agreed to (i) a censure, (ii) pay a civil money penalty of $25,000 and (iii) undertake remedial measures outlined in the Order.

In a third Order, the PCAOB found that a firm violated PCAOB Rule 2203 ("Special Reports") for failing to file a Form 3 to notify the PCAOB of a legal change to the firm's name. To settle the charges, the firm agreed to (i) a censure, (ii) pay a civil money penalty of $25,000 and (iii) undertake remedial measures outlined in the Order.