Accounting companies pay fines for standards violations

Shanghai-based PwC Zhong Tian LLP and PwC Hong Kong agreed to pay penalties of $3 million and $4 million respectively as the two firms were found by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) violations of the latter's standards regarding integrity and personnel management.

PCAOB, the organization overseeing the audits of all US-listed companies, announced the penalties on Thursday.

From 2018 to 2020, over 1,000 individuals from PwC Hong Kong and hundreds of individuals from the Shanghai firm were found to engage in improper answer sharing – by either providing or receiving access to answers through two unauthorized software applications – in connection with online tests for mandatory internal training courses related to the firms' US auditing curriculum. The majority of the professionals implicated in the answer-sharing performed work for the firms' assurance practices, according to the PCAOB.

Both firms are required to review and improve their quality control policies and procedures to provide reasonable assurance that their personnel act with integrity in connection with internal training. They should report their compliance to the PCAOB within 150 days.

PwC Zhong Tian said in a statement on Friday that it has voluntarily reported the matter to the PCAOB and reached a resolution with the latter.

The firm's high degree of cooperation in this matter has been affirmed and recognized by the PCAOB, PwC Zhong Tian said in the statement.

The Shanghai-based accounting firm is committed to providing quality services to clients and other stakeholders. Measures will be taken at a time when internal training is not fully up to standard. It has reiterated the firm's policy requirement for all employees to complete online training courses, emphasizing the importance of disciplined and responsible use of innovative technologies, according to the statement.

The PCAOB also sanctioned Shandong Haoxin Certified Public Accountants Co Ltd and four of its associated persons for violations of the US securities laws and PCAOB rules and standards in connection with the audits of the 2015-2017 financial statements of Gridsum Holding Inc.

Haoxin, a public accounting firm, issued a false audit report, failed to maintain independence from their issuer client, and improperly adopted the work of another accounting firm as their own, said the PCAOB. The accounting firm faces fines of $750,000 and the total penalties for the four related persons came at $190,000.