The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today sanctioned Goldman & Company, CPA's, and Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton for violations related to required audit records and disclosures of key information for investors.
The board found that Goldman & Company violated AS 1215, Audit Documentation, by failing to timely assemble a complete and final set of audit documentation related to the audit of a broker dealer.
Separately, the board found that Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton violated Rule 2203, Special Reports, by failing to timely report the initiation and conclusion of three proceedings brought against it by a local regulator. Raymond Chabot is the Quebec, Canada-based member firm of Grant Thornton International. Their main Canadian firm, Grant Thornton LLP Canada, was renamed last year to Doane Grant Thornton LLP but is separate from the PCAOB's sanction.
"Failures to document required audit work or to make required disclosures on time undermine trust in the audit and prevent investors and others from accessing important information," PCAOB chair Erica Williams said in a statement.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firms settled with the PCAOB and consented to its orders and disciplinary actions. The order imposes a $25,000 civil money penalty on Goldman & Company, and undertakings to review its audit documentation policies and procedures and ensure annual training concerning audit documentation. On Raymond Chabot, the order imposes a $30,000 civil money penalty and requires it to comply with its previously revised policies and procedures regarding reporting requirements.
"Registered firms must comply with PCAOB rules and standards related to audit documentation and Form 3 reporting," Robert Rice, director of the PCAOB's division of enforcement and investigations, said in a statement. "These actions show that the PCAOB will hold firms accountable that fail to do so."
PCAOB sanctions PWR CPA
The board also sanctioned today PWR CPA for filing to conduct inquiries regarding fraud risks and other repeat violations.
PWR violated rules and standards in connection with its audit of Ainos for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022.
"When auditors fail to appropriately evaluate fraud and other risks, they undermine investor protection," Williams said in a statement.
PWR failed to perform risk assessment procedures and not properly evaluate certain matters for determination as critical audit matters during its 2022 audit, failed to conduct inquiries of Ainos' audit commit concerning fraud risks, and filed to timely file nine Form APs disclosing audit participants and failed to submit a Form 3 to disclose that the firm had taken on an individual who had been barred by the SEC as a partner.
"Firm personnel must conduct audits in accordance with PCAOB rules and standards, particularly when evaluating potential fraud risks," Rice said in a statement. "This case is another example of the PCAOB holding firms accountable for violations of core PCAOB rules and standards."
Without admitting or denying the findings, PWR consented to the order which censures the firm, imposes a $60,000 civil money penalty, and requires the firm to undertake remedial measures to provide reasonable assurance that firm personnel will comply with the PCAOB's filing requirements and standards regarding communications with audit committees in an audit prior to submitting any future registration, and to provide documented evidence with any future submission.
