Canada’s accounting regulator to review E&Y after company fined in ethics exam cheating scandal

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The SEC announced a US$100-million settlement with Ernst & Young after hundreds of employees were found to have cheated on CPA exams. The company is now being investigated on whether cheating occurred in Canada

After Ernst & Young agreed to pay a record U.S. penalty for allowing hundreds of employees to cheat on exams and training courses, Canada’s audit regulator said it will ask the firm if its employees did the same thing here.

Susan Schutta, spokesperson for the Canadian Public Accountability Board, said CPAB was not part of the U.S. investigation and learned of the settlement when the SEC announced it. CPAB, which inspects the accounting firms that audit public companies, will now examine E&Y’s Canadian operations to find out whether cheating occurred here, she said.

“We have repeatedly and consistently taken steps to reinforce our culture of compliance, ethics and integrity in the past. We will continue to take extensive actions, including disciplinary steps, training, monitoring and communications that will further strengthen our commitment in the future,” she said. “Sharing answers on any assessment or exam is a violation of our Code of Conduct and is not tolerated at EY.

PwC self-reported the problem to CPAB after a whistleblower raised the issue internally. The enforcement orders called for public censure, the development of new internal procedures to prevent the problem from happening again and a $200,000 fine designed to recoup CPAB’s investigation costs. CPAB cannot impose fines for economic damages or punitive reasons.

CPAB previously disciplined Deloitte LLP after its employees falsified the date and time stamps on audit work papers by changing the settings on their computers to a different date. The incidents occurred from November, 2016, through early March, 2018, on audits involving 29 different companies, CPAB said.

 

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