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☆ Trump Media's auditor charged with 'massive fraud' by SEC
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump Media's auditor, BF Borgers, committed fraud in 1,500 filings, the SEC said. "Trump Media looks forward to working with new auditing partners," a spokesperson said. AdvertisementThe Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged accounting firm BF Borgers and its owner, Benjamin Borgers, with "massive fraud." "Trump Media looks forward to working with new auditing partners in accordance with today's SEC order," a TMTG spokesperson told Business Insider. AdvertisementDespite losing money and being cagey about how its user base compares to its social media rivals, Trump Media is now valued at over $6.3 billion.

Persons: Trump, BF Borgers, —, Benjamin Borgers, Donald Trump's, Borgers, BF, Grewal Organizations: BF, SEC, Trump Media, Service, Securities, Exchange Commission, Trump Media & Technology, Bloomberg, Public Company, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Business, Truth

The auditing firm for Trump Media and the auditor's owner were charged Friday with "massive fraud" by the Securities and Exchange Commission for work that affected more than 1,500 SEC filings, the federal regulator announced. The auditor, BF Borgers CPA and its owner Benjamin Borgers have agreed to be permanently suspended from practicing as accountants before the SEC, and also agreed to pay a combined $14 million in civil penalties, without admitting or denying the allegations, the SEC said. The agency, calling BF Borgers a "sham audit mill," said the company and its owner engaged in "deliberate and systemic failures to comply with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ... standards in its audits and reviews incorporated in more than 1,500 SEC filings from January 2021 through June 2023," according to a press release. BF Borgers during that same time acted as the auditor for Trump Media, which was then privately held and moving toward a planned merger with the publicly traded shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp.Trump Media and DWAC finalized that merger in late March 2024, leading to Trump Media becoming publicly traded under the DJT ticker. The SEC said the Lakewood, Colorado-based BF Borgers and its owner were charged with falsely telling clients that the auditor's work would comply with PCAOB standards, fabricating audit documents to make it seem that the work did comply with those standards, and "falsely stating in audit reports included in more than 500 public company SEC filings that the firm's audits complied with PCAOB standards," the release said.

Persons: Benjamin Borgers, BF Borgers, DWAC Organizations: Trump Media, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, BF, CPA, Company, Corp Locations: Lakewood , Colorado

☆ PwC’s China and Hong Kong Units Fined in Training Exam Cheating Probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

More than 1,000 workers at PwC China and PwC Hong Kong engaged in training-exam misconduct from 2018 to 2020, according to the PCAOB. Photo: Alyssa Schukar for The Wall Street JournalThe Public Company Accounting Oversight Board fined PricewaterhouseCoopers’s China and Hong Kong units over training exam misconduct from hundreds of employees as part of its first set of enforcement settlements with audit firms in the region since it gained full access to inspect them late last year. PwC Hong Kong and PwC China agreed to pay a combined $7 million to settle claims that they failed to detect or prevent extensive and improper answer sharing on tests for mandatory internal training courses, the U.S. auditing watchdog said Thursday.

Persons: Alyssa Schukar Organizations: Wall Street, Company Locations: China, Hong Kong, PwC Hong Kong, U.S

☆ US PCAOB fines PwC in China for allowing cheating on audit exams
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —A US regulator has hit the China arm of prestigious “Big Four” firm PwC with a $7 million fine. In its announcement, the PCAOB said the practice was widespread, involving more than 1,000 employees from PwC Hong Kong, and hundreds more from PwC China. It fined PwC $7 million in total, with its entities in Hong Kong and mainland China ordered to pay $4 million and $3 million, respectively. The mainland Chinese arm works in collaboration with its Hong Kong and Macao offices, collectively boasting a headcount of more than 20,000. On Thursday, the US regulator also penalized a mainland Chinese accounting firm for violations, including issuing a false audit report.

Persons: “, Erica Y, Williams, ” PwC, ”, Shandong Haoxin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US Public Company, PwC, US, Shandong Haoxin Locations: Hong Kong, China, Macao, Shandong Haoxin, Shandong

[1/3] PwC Australia Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burrowes listens during the inquiry into management and assurance of integrity by consulting services at Parliament House in Canberra, October 12, 2023. The global firm announced last month it had taken "appropriate action" against six staff outside Australia who received confidential information and should have raised questions. No confidential information was used for commercial gain, it said. Burrowes told senators PwC Australia had not been provided details about the international investigation and did not know where the staff worked or how they had been disciplined. An investigation by the U.S. accounting regulator, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), is underway and PwC Australia is providing further information to the body, a senior executive told parliament.

Persons: Kevin Burrowes, Mick Tsikas, PwC, Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: Australia, House, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Police, PwC, Public Company, KPMG Australia, Thomson Locations: Canberra, U.S, PwC Australia

☆ PCAOB Proposes Expanded Liability for Individual Auditors Involved in Firm Violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ US SEC fines UK firm over bogus audit of music streaming business
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Crowe, Bostock and Stallabrass neither admitted nor denied the charges, according to the SEC. A lawyer representing the three referred queries to a company representative who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the SEC, Crowe falsely claimed its staff were qualified to conduct an audit according to standards set by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and failed to exercise appropriate skepticism when presented with fabricated documents, among other failings. Crowe has agreed to withdraw its PCAOB registration while Bostock and Stallabrass have agreed to be suspended from appearing before the SEC as accountants for minimum periods of five and two years, respectively, the SEC said.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Crowe, Nigel Bostock, Matthew Stallabrass, Akazoo, Bostock, Stallabrass, Douglas Gillison, Paul Simao Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Crowe UK, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Public, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, British, London

☆ A Rare Justice Department Mea Culpa
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-pcaob-kpmg-fraud-david-middendorf-jeffrey-wada-c27e6cb

Persons: Dow Jones, middendorf, jeffrey, wada Organizations: pcaob, kpmg

☆ US starts new round of audit inspections on China firms- source
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group is seen next to an earphone in this illustration picture taken March 22, 2021. The PCAOB previously said it would demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong in their regular inspections from 2023. The PCAOB, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, Didi Global, and NetEase did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Washington's demands for access to the audits of Chinese companies follow a long-running dispute over auditing compliance of U.S.-listed Chinese firms. Reporting by Xie Yu in Hong Kong and Yana Gaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Florence Lo, PCAOB, Didi Global, NetEase, Janet Yellen, Xie Yu, Yana Gaur, Rashmi Aich, Sam Holmes Organizations: Entertainment, REUTERS, U.S, Public Company, Reuters, Wall, Bloomberg, Tencent Music Entertainment, Global Inc, NetEase Inc, Music Entertainment, Authorities, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, U.S, Washington, Beijing, China, United States, Bengaluru

Uber and Facebook on Friday said they had received advice from PwC Australia about the law. "We had no knowledge their advice may have been based on improperly obtained information," an Uber spokesperson said. Uber dropped PwC Australia as a tax adviser in 2016 after "engagements" with the Australian Tax Office, the spokesperson added. Uber and Facebook's links to PwC on the leaked tax plans were first reported by the Australian Financial Review on Friday. A PwC Australia spokesperson said the matter "was a PwC issue" and its "clients were not involved in any wrongdoing and no confidential information was used to enable clients to pay less tax."

Persons: Uber, PwC, PwC's, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC, Facebook, Reuters, Google, Australian Tax Office, Treasury, Australian, Tax, Board, Public Company, Thomson Locations: PwC Australia, Australia

☆ Marcum to Settle SEC, PCAOB Claims Over Widespread Failures in SPAC Audits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/marcum-to-settle-sec-pcaob-claims-over-widespread-failures-in-spac-audits-bb8f3d48

Persons: Dow Jones

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. accounting watchdog found unacceptable deficiencies in audits of U.S.-listed Chinese companies performed by KPMG in China and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong, the government agency said on Wednesday. The deficiencies were so great that auditors failed to obtain enough evidence to substantiate companies' financial statements, PCAOB Chair Erica Williams told reporters on Wednesday. KPMG Huazhen in China said in a statement it has taken steps to address the issues the PCAOB had found. With its 2023 work, the PCAOB expects it will have inspected auditors representing 99% of the work in the region. The agency will continue to demand full access to do its work, Williams said.

☆ Audits of Chinese Companies Are Highly Deficient, U.S. Regulator Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The PCAOB oversees audit firms that review the financial statements of companies listed in the U.S. Photo: Alyssa Schukar for The Wall Street JournalThe Public Company Accounting Oversight Board found significant auditing deficiencies in its first ever set of inspections in China and Hong Kong, saying that local affiliates of KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers missed the mark on auditing U.S.-listed companies in the region. The U.S. audit watchdog last fall completed its first set of inspections of China-based audit firms after years of Chinese regulators refusing to allow such reviews on national-security concerns. After PCAOB staff returned from Hong Kong, the regulator in December said it obtained full access to inspect the firms.

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found unacceptable deficiencies in audits of U.S.-listed Chinese companies performed by KPMG in China and PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong, the government agency said on Wednesday. The U.S. audit watchdog published the findings of its inspections after gaining access to Chinese company auditors' records for the first time last year following more than a decade of negotiations with Chinese authorities. The deficiencies were so great that auditors failed to obtain sufficient evidence to substantiate companies' financial statements, PCAOB Chair Erica Williams told reporters on Wednesday. The two firms represented 40% of the market share of U.S.-listed companies audited by Hong Kong and mainland China firms, she said. While the findings are consistent with what the agency usually discovers when gaining access to a foreign country's audit records for the first time, they will likely raise worries among global investors over the accuracy of U.S.-listed Chinese companies' public financial statements.

☆ Audits of Chinese companies by KPMG and PwC full of holes, US watchdog finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —US inspectors, after receiving access to auditors’ books for the first time, discovered significant shortcomings in audits of companies based in China and Hong Kong that are listed on US stock exchanges. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) said Wednesday that it uncovered major “deficiencies” after checking the work of KPMG Huazhen, which is headquartered in mainland China, and PwC’s practice in Hong Kong. Deficiencies were found in 100% of the audits by KPMG Huazhen reviewed and 75% of those from PwC Hong Kong. US regulators had long lobbied for this access, worried that Chinese firms listed on Wall Street were misrepresenting their financial heath. The breakthrough meant that more than 160 Chinese companies avoided being kicked out of the world’s biggest stock market, as US regulators threatened if they weren’t able to inspect their audits.

☆ U.S. Audit Watchdog Proposes Move to Get Inspections Started Faster
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Erica Williams has been chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for just over a year, and has increased its enforcement efforts. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board proposed cutting by more than half the amount of time auditors have to assemble final audit documentation, which might allow the audit watchdog to start its inspection process up to a month earlier and provide key information to investors sooner. The U.S. audit regulator has been working to update more than 30 standards that have gone largely unchanged since they were adopted on an interim basis roughly 20 years ago from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. With the proposal released Tuesday, the PCAOB suggested consolidating and modernizing four interim standards into one standard on auditors’ core responsibilities, including areas such as professional skepticism, independence, competence and professional judgment.

HONG KONG, March 16 (Reuters) - Officials from the U.S. audit watchdog will start a new round of inspections in Hong Kong on Chinese companies' auditors as soon as next week, sources said, as part of a deal with Beijing to prevent delistings of the firms from the New York bourse. That visit came after U.S. and China reached a landmark deal last August to settle a long-running dispute over auditing compliance of U.S.-listed Chinese firms. It also warned that any obstruction of inspection access could affect Chinese firms' listings in the U.S. A mainland branch under KPMG and a Hong Kong branch under PwC were picked by the PCAOB in last year's inspections, the PCAOB said earlier. Reporting by Xie Yu and Selena Li in Hong Kong, additional reporting by Chris Prentice in Washington; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lack of Crypto Audit Regulation Raises Questions About PCAOB Authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Additionally, there isn’t a regulatory framework for audits for many crypto companies. The SEC, which oversees the PCAOB, is reviewing how crypto companies portray reports from audit firms in the aftermath of the FTX collapse. The PCAOB—which sets audit standards, inspects audits and disciplines audit firms—has said it can only oversee audits of public companies and SEC-registered broker-dealers. In a letter last month to PCAOB Chair Erica Williams, they said the watchdog ignored what they called questionable practices by auditors of crypto companies. Even potential improvements to crypto audit regulation might not prevent fraud in the crypto industry, said Andrew Kitto, an assistant professor of accounting at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a former PCAOB economic research fellow.

Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are calling on the country's accounting watchdog to increase oversight of firms that audit cryptocurrency companies in the wake of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. “When PCAOB-registered auditors perform sham audits – even for firms that may lay outside of the PCAOB’s jurisdiction – they tarnish the credibility of the PCAOB," Warren and Wyden wrote. A PCAOB spokesperson confirmed the board had received the letter and said it would respond to the lawmakers directly. Bankman-Fried has previously acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but has said he does not believe he has criminal liability. Reporting by Hannah Lang and Douglas Gillison in Washington; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Investments are set to flow back into China as tech giants avoid U.S. delisting, government pledges policy support, says investment manager
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Budrul Chukrut | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesInvestors could regain the confidence to put their money in Chinese tech stocks as these companies avoid delisting from U.S. stock exchanges and the Chinese government pledges policy support, according to one investment manager. Last week, U.S. accounting watchdog the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said it gained full access to inspect and investigate Chinese companies for the first time, after China finally granted the U.S. access in August. Investors often grapple with a lack of transparency into Chinese stocks. watch nowAs of Sept. 30, there were 262 Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges with a total market capitalization of $775 billion, according to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. "These internet giants are really where investors want to invest when it comes to China," said Ahern.

☆ PCAOB Proposes Tighter Requirements for Audit Firms Verifying Outside Information About Clients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board proposed tightening the requirements around how audit firms obtain and verify outside evidence about their clients, such as from customers and lenders, a process aimed at preventing fraud. Under the current rule, audit firms must send out requests, typically electronically, asking a third party to confirm the accuracy of certain information, such as the amount of accounts receivable. Audit firms are allowed to assume that the lack of a response is a corroboration of accuracy. The PCAOB now wants audit firms to go a step further by confirming the amounts of cash and cash equivalents held by third parties—typically lenders. The PCAOB last proposed changes to its confirmation rules in 2010, but the proposal, which some audit firms at the time called overly prescriptive, didn’t advance further.

☆ China’s U.S. audit capitulation is rare win-win
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NISEKO, Japan, Dec 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The history of Sino-American diplomatic relations is not replete with unequivocal U.S. negotiating victories. State-owned giants including oil refiner Sinopec (600028.SS) voluntarily decamped while its peer CNOOC (0883.HK) was booted off on a separate government order. Their departure helped erase over half a trillion dollars from the collective value of Chinese companies there between June and September. Scandals overseas do not help: many Chinese investors, for instance, had stakes in Luckin. For their part, Chinese regulators tightened cybersecurity reviews of companies listing abroad, alleviating the concerns of officials who suspect American intentions.

☆ Stock delisting risks averted as US gains access to audit papers of Chinese tech companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The announcement marks a major breakthrough in a yearslong standoff over how Chinese companies listed on Wall Street should be regulated. There are more than 260 Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges, with a combined market capitalization of more than $770 billion, according to recent calculations posted by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The United States had increased pressure by passing a law in December 2020 requiring Chinese companies listed in the US to open their books to audit watchdogs. In Friday’s statement, the PCAOB said it had inspected the audits of eight Chinese companies completed by KPMG Huazhen LLP in China and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong. She added that the watchdog is continuing to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward.

The announcement from the U.S. accounting watchdog removes the risk that around 200 Chinese companies, including Alibaba (BABA.N), could be kicked off U.S. stock exchanges. "This falls into the category of a game changing view of Chinese companies because the threat of their delisting seems to have been eliminated." Washington and Beijing reached a landmark deal in August to settle a long-running dispute over auditing compliance of U.S.-listed Chinese firms. Authorities in China have long been reluctant to let overseas regulators inspect local accounting firms, citing national security concerns. U.S. lawmakers in 2020 agreed to legislation that would oust Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges unless they adhere to American auditing standards.

☆ Delisting risk eases for Alibaba and other US-listed Chinese companies after American officials get audit access
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alibaba and other US-listed Chinese firms face a lower risk of delisting after officials got access to audit data. Inspectors conducted on-site work in Hong Kong but have yet to gain access to mainland China. The work lessens the potential that roughly 200 Chinese companies will be booted from American exchanges. Chinese officials have cited national security concerns for shutting down inspection demands. The watchdog said it's continuing to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong and is already planning for regular inspections starting in early 2023.

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