PCAOB Issues Disciplinary Orders Against Deloitte & Touche LLP and a Former Audit Partner

PCAOB Issues Disciplinary Orders Against Deloitte & Touche LLP and a Former Audit Partner

米ＰＣＡＯＢは、Deloitte & Touche LLP とその元監査パートナーに対する処分を２００７年１２月１０日に公表しました。

Ligand Pharmaceuticalsという会社の２００３年の監査にかかわる処分です。Deloitte & Touche は、１百万ドルの課徴金支払に合意し、監査パートナーの実績と配属に関する潜在的な問題点を識別し解決するための方針及び手続を変更しています。

Without admitting or denying the Board’s findings, Deloitte consented to an order imposing a $1 million civil money penalty. As described in the order, Deloitte has implemented changes to its quality control policies and procedures for identifying and addressing potential audit quality concerns regarding the performance and deployment of its audit partners.

問題のパートナーは、返品する権利が顧客に与えられている製品の売上に関する適切かつ十分な手続を行わず、補助者にそうした手続を実施させるよう監督しなかったとされています。また、製品の返品に関して合理的な見積もりを行う能力が会社に欠けているという兆候に十分な注意を払わなかったことも指摘されています。

In its orders, the Board found that Deloitte assigned Mr. Fazio to serve as the engagement partner for its audit of Ligand’s 2003 financial statements. The Board also found that Deloitte assessed the engagement risk of the 2003 audit as greater than normal. The Board found that during the audit, Mr. Fazio failed to perform appropriate and adequate audit procedures related to Ligand’s reported revenue from sales of products for which a right of return existed and failed to supervise others adequately to ensure the performance of such procedures. Mr. Fazio neither performed nor ensured the performance of procedures that adequately took into account the existence of factors indicating that Ligand’s ability to make reasonable estimates of product returns may have been impaired.

Deloitteに関しては、このパートナーの能力が問題視されるような事実や状況を事務所の経営陣が認識しており、公開会社のパートナーから外すべきという意見もあったにもかかわらず、監査報告書発行前に意味のある措置をとらなかったとされています。

In the Deloitte order, the Board found that, before Deloitte issued its audit report, firm management was aware of facts and circumstances that raised questions about Mr. Fazio's ability to lead public company audit engagements.Certain members of Deloitte’s management concluded first that Mr. Fazio should be removed from public company audits and ultimately that he should be asked to resign from the firm. Yet the firm left Mr. Fazio in place as the engagement partner and did not take meaningful steps to assure the quality of the audit work before issuing its audit report.

その後この会社は過年度決算修正を行い、５９百万ドルの売上を取り消しています（５２％の売上減少）。