Disciplinary Orders
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Order Date
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Name/
Relevant sub-sections of the PAO
|
Nature of complaint
|
Sanction
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2020 | Wong Man Ki Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a direction issued by the Practice Review Committee (PRC) under section 32F(2)(b) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance. The respondent had been practising in her own name on a part-time basis and was subject to a practice review. The practice reviewer made numerous attempts to obtain information from the respondent for the purpose of the review. However, the respondent refused to provide the information requested. Subsequently, the PRC issued a direction under section 32F(2)(b) of the Ordinance to the respondent requiring her to cooperate with the Institute to facilitate a practice review and provide certain information for the review. The respondent did not comply with the direction. |
Order: Reprimand Cancellation of practising certificate and removal from the register of CPAs for three years with effect from 28 October 2020 Penalty: HK$30,000 Costs: HK$55,105 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 24 August 2020 |
1. Wong On Yee 2. CWC CPA Limited
|
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 230 Audit Documentation, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 560 Subsequent Events and Hong Kong Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. Refusal or neglect to comply with the Corporate Practices (Registration) Rules. Further, the respondents have been guilty of professional misconduct. The respondents were the auditor of a licensed corporation under the Securities and Futures Ordinance for each of the three years ended 31 March 2015 to 2017. The 2nd respondent expressed unmodified auditor’s opinions on the company’s financial statements for each of the three years, and unqualified conclusions on the compliance reports on the company for each of the three years. The 1st respondent was the engagement director in those audit and compliance reporting engagements. There were various deficiencies identified in the audit and compliance reporting engagements throughout the three years in question. |
Order: Reprimand 1st Respondent Practising certificate be cancelled and no practising certificate shall be issued for 12 months Costs: |
| 21 August 2020 | Lo Yip Tong Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a direction issued by the Practice Review Committee (PRC) under section 32F(2)(b) of the PAO, and breach of the fundamental principle of integrity in sections 100.5(a) and 110 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The respondent’s practice was subject to a follow-up practice review. The PRC issued a direction requiring him to provide the necessary information to enable the practice review to be conducted. The respondent failed to comply with the PRC’s direction, claiming falsely that his office was in disarray after typhoon devastation. As a result, the follow-up practice review could not be conducted. |
Order:
|
| 18 June 2019 | Ng Ka Kuen Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care in sections 100.5 (c) and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, and Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements. Ng was the sole practising director of a CPA practice and was responsible for its quality control system. The practice was selected by the Institute for practice review in 2016. Multiple breaches of auditing standards were found in two audit engagements selected for the review. The breaches show that Ng did not carry out the audits with the level of professional competence and due care expected of him. In addition, the breaches show that the practice failed to have an adequate system of quality control to ensure that it had appropriate human resources to uphold audit quality and that it performed audit engagements in accordance with professional standards. |
Order:
Reprimand - Costs: HK$52,977 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 22 June 2020 | Wong Tam Yee Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principles of (i) integrity under sections 100.5(a), 110.1 and 110.2(a) of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and (ii) professional behaviour under sections 100.5(e) and 150.1 of the Code of Ethics; and being guilty of professional misconduct. The respondent was the sole director and shareholder of a foreign private company, which was holding shares of two Hong Kong listed companies with a market value of HK$146 million. He facilitated sale of the shares at a substantial discount, under terms that were unfavorable to the company. Also, in the sold notes for the shares, he falsely stated that the shares were sold for full market value and that the consideration had been received. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs for two years with effect from 21 August 2020 Penalty: - Costs: HK$128,202 Decision on sanctions and costs |
| 22 May 2020 |
1. Fung Pui Cheung 2. Lee Ping Kai 3. Pan-China (H.K.) CPA Limited (ENG) (CHI)
|
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 3rd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 240 The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence and HKSA 550 Related Parties. Failure or neglect by the 2nd and 3rd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 200, HKSA 500 and HKSA 705 Modifications to the Opinion in the Independent Auditor’s Report. The 3rd respondent audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the years ended 31 March 2011 and 2012. The 1st respondent was the engagement director in 2011 and the 2nd respondent was the engagement director in 2012. |
Order:
Reprimand Penalty: 1st Respondent 2nd Respondent HK$400,000 Cost: HK$234,018 (including FRC costs) paid by the three respondents jointly Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 22 May 2020 | Ko Chiu Wan, Eric Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply
Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements; Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 500 Audit Evidence; HKSA 705 Modifications to the Opinion in the Independent Auditor’s Report; section 410.52 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Code of Ethics); and the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics. |
Order: Practising certificate be cancelled and no practising certificate shall be issued for 15 months Penalty: - Cost: HK$44,514 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 9 December 2019 |
1. Yip Kai Yin 2. Ng Man Chung, Siman 3. Elite Partners CPA Limited (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 3rd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 510 Initial Audit Engagements – Opening Balances, HKSA 540 Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures and HKSA 710 Comparative Information – Corresponding Figures and Comparative Financial Statements. Failure or neglect by the 2nd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements. Further, the Respondents were guilty of professional misconduct. The 3rd respondent was newly appointed as auditor which expressed an unmodified auditor’s opinion on the consolidated financial statements of a listed group for the year ended 30 June 2012. The 1st respondent was the engagement director and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer. |
Order:
Reprimand |
| 25 April 2020 |
1. Yuen Suk Ching 2. Leung Tai Keung (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Objective and General Principles Governing an Audit of Financial Statements, HKSA 230 Audit Documentation, HKSA 240 The Auditor’s Responsibilities to Consider Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements, HKSA 300 Planning an Audit of Financial Statements, HKSA 315 Understanding the Entity and its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 520 Analytical Procedures, HKSA 550 Related Parties and HKSA 700 The Independent Auditor’s Report on a Complete Set of General Purpose Financial Statements. Failure or neglect by the 2nd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 220 Quality Control for Audits of Historical Financial Information and HKSA 230. Further, both respondents were guilty of professional misconduct. The respondents were partners of a deregistered firm which audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed group for the years ended 30 June 2008 to 2010. The 1st respondent was the engagement partner and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer. |
Order:
1st Respondent Payment of penalty of HK$100,000 |
| 8 April 2020 | Lo Hung Yan Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply
the fundamental principles of integrity, and professional competence and due care in sections 100.5(a), 100.5(c), 110.2 and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants; Hong Kong Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised) Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information and Related Conforming Amendments; Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (“HKSA”) 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 600 Special Consideration - Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors), HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements; and Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements. The respondent was the former managing director of the practice and responsible for its quality control system. A practice review of the practice found that the respondent colluded with a client to backdate an auditor’s report in order to mislead the Inland Revenue Department. The practice review also revealed multiple deficiencies in the assurance and audit engagements carried out on an insurance broker and two other private companies. Those deficiencies demonstrated that the respondent failed to ensure the practice had established and maintained a quality control system. They also cast serious doubts on the respondent’s ability to maintain the level of professional competence and due care expected of him. |
Order:
Reprimand Penalty: HK$70,000 Cost: HK$67,776 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 4 February 2020 |
Law Kwong Wah (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (“HKSA”) 315 Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement through Understanding the Entity and Its Environment; HKSA 240 The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements; and HKSA 500 Audit Evidence; Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements; and the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
|
Order:
Reprimand Penalty: HK$50,000 Cost: HK$51,785 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 4 February 2020 |
Hu Chiu Lun, Alan (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements, the fundamental principle of integrity in sections 100.5(a), 110.1 and 110.2 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, and the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code, and being guilty of professional misconduct. The respondent was practising in his own name and was responsible for his practice’s quality control system and the quality of its audit engagements. In a follow-up practice review, the reviewer found that the practice failed to rectify the deficiencies previously identified in the first practice review. Significant deficiencies were also found in procedures conducted on revenue recognition, external confirmations and forming the auditor’s opinion in the practice’s audit of a private company. In addition, the respondent knowingly misrepresented to the reviewer that certain working papers were prepared, and documented procedures performed, before the auditor’s report was issued. |
Order:
Reprimand Penalty: HK$30,000 Cost: HK$30,000 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 23 December 2019 | Chik Wing Kan, Peter
(ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements, the fundamental principle of integrity in sections 100.5(a), 110.1 and 110.2 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code and being guilty of professional misconduct. The respondent is the sole shareholder of a practice and is responsible for the practice’s quality control system and the quality of its audit engagements. A first practice review conducted on the practice identified significant deficiencies in its system of quality control and in two of its audit engagements. In addition, the respondent falsely or recklessly provided untrue answers in the self-assessment questionnaire and “Audit Health Screening Checklist” submitted to the Institute in relation to practice review. |
Order:
Reprimand Penalty: HK$50,000 Cost: HK$41,802 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 14 November 2019 | 1.Chan Kwok Tung, Gordon 2.Gordon Chan & Company Certified Public Accountants Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 210 Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 580 Written Representations, HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements and sections 100.5(c) and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 1st respondent is the sole proprietor of the 2nd respondent which audited the financial statements of three private companies for two years. There were a number of audit deficiencies identified in the areas of failure to agree the terms of the engagements with the companies’ management, the audit procedures conducted on bank confirmations and income statements, failure to obtain written representations from management and failure to state the date in two of their auditor’s reports. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: HK$80,000 (paid by the two respondents jointly) Costs: HK$31,931 (paid by the two respondents jointly) Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 4 November 2019 | 1. Chan Mei Mei
2. Ho Yiu Hang, Ricky 3. Asian Alliance (HK) CPA Limited (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st respondent and the 3rd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 230 Audit Documentation, HKSA 315 Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement through Understanding the Entity and its Environment, HKSA 330 The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 540 Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures and HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements. Failure or neglect by the 2nd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements. Failure or neglect by the 1st and 2nd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 3rd respondent audited the consolidated financial statements of a listed Group for the years ended 30 June 2011 and 2012. The 1st respondent was the engagement director and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer. The respondents failed to identify incorrect classification and measurement of a contingent consideration payable by the Group in one of its acquisitions. In addition, the Respondents failed to perform sufficient audit procedures and prepare adequate documentation in respect of assessing impairment of goodwill and intangible assets arising from the Group’s acquisitions. |
Order:
Reprimand Practising certificate be cancelled and no practising certificate shall be issued for 36 months 2nd Respondent Practising certificate be cancelled and no practising certificate shall be issued for 24 months Penalty: 1st Respondent HK$150,000 2nd Respondent HK$110,000 3rd Respondent HK$200,000 Cost: HK$466,869.60 (including FRC costs) (paid by the three respondents jointly) Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 23 October 2019 |
Ng Tsz Wing Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements, Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence and HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements, and being guilty of professional misconduct. The respondent is the sole shareholder of a corporate practice. A first practice review of his practice identified a number of significant deficiencies in its system of quality control. The respondent also failed to maintain professional knowledge and skill at the required level, and to comply with professional standards, in a number of audit and assurance engagements examined by the practice reviewer. |
Order:
|
| 5 September 2019 |
1. Tong Yat Hung 2. Cheng & Cheng Limited Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 2nd respondent audited the consolidated financial statements of a listed group for the year ended 31 December 2015. The 1st respondent was the engagement director.
The 2nd respondent undertook a review of the listed group’s preliminary announcement of its final results for the financial year. The published announcement contained an incorrect statement that the auditor had agreed the financial figures included in the announcement with those in the listed group’s consolidated financial statements. The respondents were aware of the incorrect statement in the announcement but they failed to follow the relevant guidance in the Institute’s Practice Note 730 and take appropriate actions in the circumstances. |
Order:
Reprimand
Penalty: 1st respondent HK$35,000
2nd respondent HK$50,000
Costs: All respondents HK$93,078 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 29 August 2019 |
1. Ernst & Young 2. Wu Kwok Keung, Andrew Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) 100 Objective and General Principles Governing an Audit of Financial Statements, SAS 230 Documentation and SAS 400 Audit Evidence.
The 1st respondent expressed unmodified auditor’s opinions on the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the nine months ended 31 December 2002 and for the year ended 31 December 2003. The 2nd respondent was the engagement partner of the audits. Audit deficiencies were found in the areas of the listed group’s sales, tax liabilities, and loans and prepayments to third parties. |
Order:
Reprimand
Penalty: 1st respondent HK$350,000
2nd respondent HK$100,000
Costs: All respondents jointly HK$184,690 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 15 August 2019 |
1. Ho Pak Tat 2. Yuen Suk Ching Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 3rd respondent expressed an unmodified auditor’s opinion on the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 March 2015. The 1st respondent was the engagement director and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer. Loss per share disclosed in the financial statements was misstated as a result of including the effect of the company’s offer of shares which was still open at the date of issuance of the financial statements and therefore should not have been taken into account under Hong Kong Accounting Standard 33 Earnings Per Share. In their audit, the respondents failed to identify the error and ensure the loss per share was properly disclosed in the consolidated financial statements. |
Order: Reprimand
Penalty: 1st respondent HK$50,000
2nd respondent HK$100,000
3rd respondent HK$100,000
Costs: All respondents HK$99,269
|
| 14 August 2019 |
Ng Ka Kuen Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements, HKSA 510 Initial Audit Engagements – Opening Balances, HKSA 540 Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures, HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements and the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The respondent was the sole practising director of a corporate practice (now de-registered). The corporate practice expressed an unmodified auditor’s opinion on the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 December 2014.
The group failed to correctly account for a deferred payment arrangement in a prior-year sale and this affected the opening balances and comparative information in the 2014 financial statements. The respondent failed to properly evaluate the transaction and the balances pertaining to it. Further, the respondent failed to appoint an engagement quality control reviewer for the audit. |
Order:
Reprimand
Penalty: HK$100,000
Costs: HK$59,374.20 (including FRC costs) Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 12 August 2019 |
1. Yip Hing Lam, Peter
2. Leung Ka Fai Press release: (ENG)(CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 2nd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply section 290 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
Failure or neglect by the 3rd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Quality Control 1 Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements.
The 3rd respondent was the auditor of a private company from 2009 to 2016. The 1st respondent was the engagement partner from 2009 to 2013. The 2nd respondent was the engagement partner from 2014 to 2016 while the 1st respondent acted as the engagement quality control reviewer in those audits. Throughout the engagements, the 1st respondent’s close family members were directors and shareholders of the client company. The 1st respondent also became a shareholder of the company in 2014. As a result, there were significant threats to the auditor’s independence. The 1st and 2nd respondents failed to properly address those threats, while the 3rd respondent failed to establish adequate policies and procedures to ensure compliance with independence requirements. |
Order:
Reprimand
Penalty: 1st respondent HK$120,000
2nd respondent HK$120,000
3rd respondent HK$100,000
Costs: All respondents jointly HK$44,866 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 25 July 2019 |
1. Chan Bing Chung
2. Chan Wai Ling Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 260 Communication with Those Charged with Governance, HKSA 540 Auditing Accounting Estimates Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures and HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements.
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 2nd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements and the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 1st respondent was the sole proprietor of a firm (now de-registered) which audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 December 2013 and expressed an unmodified auditor’s opinion. The 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer (EQCR) of the audit.
The listed group entered into a sale transaction which allowed the buyer to settle the payment by interest-free instalments over 10 years. The Group did not correctly account for the arrangement as a financing transaction under Hong Kong Accounting Standard 18 Revenue. The respondents failed to identify the accounting non-compliance. The 1st respondent failed to communicate his evaluation of the transaction to the audit committee. The 2nd respondent performed certain audit work and reported her work to the 1st respondent, which impacted her independence as the EQCR. |
Order: Reprimand
1st respondent No practising certificate shall be issued for two years
Penalty: 2nd respondent HK$50,000
Costs: 1st respondent HK$80,568.50
2nd respondent HK$25,648.50
1st and 2nd respondents equally HK$20,095.60 (being costs of FRC)
Order |
| 25 June 2019 |
1. Chan Chi Kei, Ronald
2. Ho Yiu Hang, Ricky 3. Asian Alliance (HK) CPA LimitedPress release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 3rd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Hong Kong Standards on Auditing, HKSA 230 Audit Documentation, HKSA 250 Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements, HKSA 500 Audit Evidence, HKSA 540 Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures, HKSA 620 Using the Work of an Auditor’s Expert and HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements.
Failure or neglect by the 2nd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements.
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 2nd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 3rd respondent audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 May 2011. The 1st respondent was the engagement director and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer of the audit.
The listed group held interests in a company which had acquired several dairy farms in New Zealand. The request for the local authority’s retrospective consent to the acquisition of the dairy farms was refused, and hence the farms were subject to a risk of compulsory disposal by court order. In their audit, the respondents failed to address the potential impact of the matter on the investment, and failed to evaluate whether proper disclosures about the matter had been made in the financial statements. In addition, the respondents did not prepare sufficient documentation of audit procedures performed on the group’s revenue recognition. |
Order: Reprimand
Costs: |
| 24 June 2019 |
1.HLB Hodgson Impey Cheng Limited |
Failure or neglect by the 1st respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 540 Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures and HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements. Failure or neglect by the 2nd and 3rd respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 1st respondent audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 30 June 2013. The 2nd respondent was the engagement director and the 3rd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer of the audit. The company breached Hong Kong Accounting Standard (HKAS) 39 by failing to recognise an impairment loss on its available-for-sale listed investment, which had resulted from a significant drop in the investment’s quoted market price. In their audit, the respondents failed to report the non-compliance with HKAS 39 in the auditor’s report. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: Costs: HK$117,055.40 (including FRC costs) (paid by the three respondents jointly) Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 21 June 2019 |
Wong Yuk Ming, Aaron
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply sections 100.5(a), 100.5(c), 110.1 and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, HKSQC 1 and being guilty of professional misconduct. |
Order:
Reprimand
Practising certificate (PC) be cancelled and no PC shall be issued to him for 18 months
Penalty:
|
| 18 June 2019 |
Woo Yuen Fai
(ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing 220.
The respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer in an audit of the consolidated financial statements of a listed company and its subsidiaries. A practice review identified significant audit deficiencies in the areas of impairment assessment of investment property and prepayments of production expenses. The respondent failed to perform an effective engagement quality control review to evaluate the significant judgements made and conclusions reached by the audit team. |
Order: Penalty: HK$70,000 Costs: HK$42,960 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 13 June 2019 |
Mo Kong Fung (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply sections 100.5, 110 and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, HKSQC1 and being guilty of professional misconduct.
|
Order:
Reprimand Removal from the register of CPAs for 12 months with effect from 25 July 2019 No practising certificate shall be issued to him for 2 years Penalty: HK$80,000 Cost: HK$44,053 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 5 June 2019 |
1. Chan Kam Fuk 2. Dominic K. F. Chan & Co. Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 1st respondent is the sole proprietor of the 2nd respondent which issued an unmodified auditor's opinion on the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 30 June 2015.
The company’s financial statements disclosed basic and diluted loss per share that incorrectly included profits attributable to non-controlling interests. In addition, the diluted loss per share wrongly took into account potential ordinary shares which had an anti-dilutive effect. As a result of the errors, there was non-compliance with Hong Kong Accounting Standard 33 Earnings Per Share. In their audit, the respondents failed to identify the incorrect amounts of loss per share disclosed in the financial statements.
|
Order: Reprimand Penalty: HK$80,000 Costs: HK$36,630 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 1 April 2019 |
Ng Chi Ching Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Behaviour in sections 100.5(e) and 150.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The respondent was the financial controller, company secretary and compliance officer of a Hong Kong listed company. In those positions, the respondent had a statutory obligation to ensure that the company complied with the relevant disclosure requirements under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (SFO). In August 2012, the company announced its interim results and stated that it expected significant growth and increasing profitability in the second half of the year. However, the company's full year results announcement in March 2013 revealed that performance had in fact deteriorated significantly. The company had therefore breached the relevant disclosure requirements by not issuing any profit warning announcement in the intervening period. The Market Misconduct Tribunal found that the respondent was reckless in failing to ensure the company's timely disclosure, and that he failed to put in place a system to enable the timely identification and disclosure of price sensitive information. The Tribunal found the respondent had breached sections 307G(2)(a) and 307G(2)(b) of the SFO and issued sanctions against him. They also recommended referring the findings to the Institute. |
Order:
Removal from the register of CPAs for 12 months with effect from 13 May 2019 Penalty: - Costs: HK$32,496 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 25 March 2019 |
Yin Yingneng, Richard Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principles of (i) integrity under sections 100.5(a) and 110.2 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and (ii) professional behaviour under sections 100.5(e) and 150.1 of the Code; and being guilty of professional misconduct. The respondent was appointed as the Chairman, and later re- designated as a non-executive director of a Hong Kong listed company.
In 2012, the Securities and Futures Commission filed a court action against the respondent and others for their breach of director's duties to the company. The breach concerned falsely putting forward a non-existent agreement between the company and a third party for the distribution of dividends in connection with an acquisition undertaken by the company. This caused the company to wrongly pay a dividend of RMB18,692,000 to the third party.The Court found the respondent breached his duties as a director under the GEM Listing Rules and common law, and disqualified him from being a director or involved in the management of any listed or unlisted corporation in Hong Kong for four years. |
Order:
Removal from the register of CPAs for two years with effect from 24 May 2019 Penalty: - Costs: HK$37,000 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 18 March 2019 |
Wong Suet Fan (ENG) (CHI) |
Guilty of professional misconduct and dishonourable conduct.
In May 2017, the Practice Review Committee of the Institute issued a direction to the respondent in respect of practice review. The respondent failed to comply with the direction and did not respond to the Institute's communications concerning the matter. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs for one year with effect from 29 April 2019 Penalty: - Costs: HK$34,447 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 6 March 2019 |
1.Wong Wang Hei Chung 3.Lui Chi Wang 4.Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing 450 Evaluation of Misstatements Identified during the Audit, and the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5 (c) and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 4th respondent audited the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the four years ended 31 December 2010 to 2013 and issued an unqualified opinion on each of those financial statements. The 1st respondent and the 2nd respondent were respectively the engagement partners of the 2010 and 2011 audits, and the 3rd respondent was the engagement partner of the 2012 and 2013 audits. Convertible bonds issued by the company in an acquisition exercise in 2010 were wrongly valued due to the use of incorrect currency exchange rates. This led to misstatements in goodwill, gain from disposal of subsidiaries, effective interest expenses and exchange differences in the financial statements for the four years. During the audits, the 4th respondent identified the misstatements but it did not accumulate the misstatements and communicate them to management or request management to take appropriate actions. |
Order:
|
| 12 February 2019 |
1. Chan Chant Fai |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply section 290.128 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 2nd Respondent audited the financial statements of a private company for the period / years ended from 31 March from 2005 to 2012. The 1st Respondent was the engagement director.
At the time of the audits, an immediate family member of the 1st Respondent was a director of the client company. The 1st Respondent failed to withdraw from the audit team, resulting in a significant compromise of the independence of the audits. |
Order:
Reprimand |
| 8 January
2019 |
Mok Wing Kai, Henry
Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply paragraphs 2 and 4 of Statement 1.200 Professional Ethics Explanatory Foreword and being guilty of dishonourable conduct.
The Respondent was the company secretary and financial controller of a company formerly listed in Hong Kong. He was also a "qualified accountant" of the group under the then GEM listing rules. As a result of accounting fraud perpetrated by other members of the senior management, the Group's audited financial statements for the years 2000 to 2004 contained materially false information pertaining to certain subsidiaries in Mainland China. At the time, the Respondent tried to remove himself from any responsibility for the subsidiaries' activities, accepted a limitation of his role as financial controller, entered into a self-imposed compromise with the directors and failed to implement the Group auditor's recommendations concerning the finance department's financial supervision and control over the Group subsidiaries. The Market Misconduct Tribunal found the Respondent negligent in relation to the financial statements and, therefore, culpable of market misconduct. It issued sanctions against the Respondent in 2017 and recommended referring the findings to the Institute. |
Order:
Reprimand Removal from the register of CPAs for six months with effect from 19 February 2019 Penalty: - Costs: HK$56,494 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 24 December 2018 |
1. Pan-China (H.K.) CPA Limited
2. Fung Pui Cheung 3. Wong Ho Yuen, Gary Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 2nd Respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing ("HKSA") 230, HKSA 500 and HKSA 620. Failure or neglect by the 2nd and 3rd Respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care under sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 1st Respondent was also guilty of professional misconduct.
The 1st Respondent issued an unmodified auditor's opinion on the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company for the year ended 31 December 2010. The 2nd Respondent was the engagement director and the 3rd Respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer of the audit. The Respondents failed to perform adequate audit procedures and prepare adequate audit documentation in respect of the carrying amounts of mining rights and goodwill, which were material assets included in the financial statements. |
Order: Reprimand
3rd Respondent
Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 15 November 2018 |
Deborah Annells
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principles of Integrity, Professional Competence and Due Care and Professional Behaviour in sections 100, 110, 130 and 150 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, as well as section 270 Custody of Client Assets, section 460 Clients' Monies and section 450 Practice Promotion of the Code, and being guilty of professional misconduct and dishonourable conduct.
The respondent controlled a group of companies in Hong Kong which provided trust and tax advisory services. The subject matter of the complaints included the use of trust monies dishonestly and for unauthorised purposes, failing to separate client funds from funds of the practices, the use offorged documents or making misleading statements to clients regarding the integrity or application of their funds, and the theft of client funds. The respondent also made disparaging remarks about the services of another CPA who was her former employee. |
Order:
Permanent removal from the register of CPAs
|
| 5 November 2018 | 1. Lew Victor Robert 2. So Kwok Keung, Keith 3. East Asia Sentinel Limited Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Breach by the 3rd Respondent of Hong Kong Standard on Auditing ("HKSA") 700 and HKSA 230, and breach by the 1st and 2nd Respondents of the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 3rd Respondent issued an unmodified auditor's opinion on the 2009 financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company. The 1st Respondent was the engagement director and the 2nd Respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer ('EQCR"). The company failed to recognize a significant decline in the fair value of two listed, available-for-sale investments as an impairment loss in the financial statements, contrary to Hong Kong Accounting Standard 39. The 3rd Respondent failed to detect this departure from accounting standards. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: HK$55,000 Costs: HK$104,517.80 (including FRC costs) Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 2 October 2018 |
1. Leung Kin Sun, Sunny Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing (HKSA) 260, HKSA 320, HKSA 500, HKSA 550, HKSA 580 and the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 1st Respondent is the sole proprietor of the 2nd Respondent which expressed an unmodified auditor's opinion on the financial statements of an approved charitable institution for the year ended 31 March 2009. The audit procedures contained deficiencies relating to audit materiality, related party transactions, bank confirmations and certain income and expenditure items. The respondents also failed to adequately document communication with those charged with governance on some audit issues. |
Order:
Reprimand Penalty: HK$80,000 Costs: HK$60,956 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 19 September 2018 |
Chin Oi Lin, Irene
Press release: (ENG)(CHI) |
Guilty of professional misconduct as a result of failure to co-operate in practice review.
The Respondent's practice was selected for practice review. The Respondent failed to respond to Institute's repeated requests to submit information required in relation to the practice review, including a direction issued by the Practice Review Committee. As a result, the practice review could not be carried out.
|
Order:
Reprimand
Cancellation of the practicing certificate issued in 2018 Removal from the register of CPAs for 3 years with effect from 31 October 2018 Penalty: HK$30,000 Costs: HK$60,943 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 13 September 2018 | 1. Tsang Chiu Keung
2. Pan-China (H.K.) CPA Limited Press release:(ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100.5(c) and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 2nd Respondent issued unmodified auditor's opinions on the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company which contained misstatements of earnings per share, contrary to Hong Kong Accounting Standard 33. The 1st Respondent was the EQCR and he reviewed the earnings per share calculation, but neither he nor the audit team identified the errors. |
Order:
Penalty: 1st Respondent 2nd Respondent Cost: HK$70,656 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 12 September 2018 |
1. Lam Pik Wah 2. BDO Limited Press release: (ENG)(CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSA 500.
The 2nd Respondent audited the financial statements of a listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 March 2012 and issued an unmodified auditor's opinion with an emphasis of matter paragraph. The 1st Respondent was the audit engagement director. The company acquired a target group in 2012, and a major shareholder of the Company had injected a sum of RMB200 million into the acquired group prior to the acquisition. The respondents did not perform additional audit procedures to resolve an apparent inconsistency between certain evidence showing the injected sum as equity of the acquired group and other evidence suggesting that the sum was a liability of the acquired group. |
Order: Reprimand
Penalty: Extract of Reasons and Order |
|
11 September 2018 |
Li Kwok Cheung, George
Press release: |
Guilty of dishonourable conduct.
The Respondent was an executive director of a financial service company which acted as financial adviser to a Hong Kong listed company. He advised or assisted the company in preparing written responses to enquiries by the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong about a fictitious project of the company and drafting a public announcement by the company. He also acted with certain other individuals to devise a purported sale of the project by the company which was in reality a sham involving a circular fund flow. |
Order: (a)Reprimand; and
Penalty:
Costs:HK$221,039.20
|
| 4 September 2018 |
Chang Wai Hang, Alab Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Behavior in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and being guilty of dishonourable conduct.
The Respondent was convicted in the District Court of two counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence, contrary to section 25(1) and (3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455). He was sentenced to imprisonment for four years and six months. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs for 10 years with effect from 16 October 2018 Penalty: - Costs: HK$34,432 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 1 June 2017 |
Cheung Yiu Hung Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSQC 1, HKSA 500 and HKSA 230.
The complaint arose from findings of a follow-up practice review visit on the Respondent's Practice. The Respondent was found to have failed to implement necessary improvements to ensure an adequate system of quality control and address audit deficiencies identified from the first practice review. |
Order: (a) Reprimand; and (b) Cancellation of practising certificate with effect from 29 August 2018 and no practising certificate shall be issued to him for 18 months. Penalty: HK$50,000 Cost: HK$128,636 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 18 July 2018 | 1. Kwok Chee Tack 2. Wong Kam Man, Kevin 3. Ernst & Young Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Statement of Auditing Standards 100, 200, 230 and 400; Statement 1.200 Professional Ethics - Explanatory Foreword and Statement 3.340 Auditing Guideline - Prospectuses and the reporting accountant.
The 3rd Respondent was the reporting accountant and auditor of three listed companies in Hong Kong. The 1st and 2nd Respondents were the engagement partners.
Deficiencies were found in the respondents' audit work in the areas of sales and receipts for sales, purchases and related cash disbursements, long-term investments, preceding auditors' work review and analytical procedures.
|
Order: Penalty:
Costs:
|
| 17 July 2018 | 1. Ying Tze Yeuk 2. T.Y. Ying & Co. Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply sections 100.5(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 1st respondent was the sole proprietor of the 2nd respondent which expressed unmodified auditor's opinions on the financial statements of a private company for each of the years 2010 to 2015.
There was non-compliance with accounting standards in the accounting of property, plant and equipment in the 2010 to 2015 financial statements, and income tax in the 2014 and 2015 financial statements. Further, there were numerous casting errors, incorrect and missing cross-references, incomplete disclosures and inconsistencies in the financial statements, auditor's reports and other information attached. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: HK$70,000 HK$49,746
|
| 10 July 2018 |
1. Seto Man Fai 2. Lo Hung Yan Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The respondents were the directors of Parker Randall CF (H.K.) CPA Limited ("Practice"), which is now de-registered. The results of a practice review revealed that the Practice failed to implement an effective system of quality control. Additionally, the practice reviewer found significant deficiencies in the audit of a Hong Kong listed company by the 1st Respondent and the compliance audit of a regulated company by the 2nd Respondent. |
Order:
1st Respondent
2nd Respondent
Penalty: 2nd Respondent
|
| 3 July 2018 | Lee Yiu Sun Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
The respondent was the Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer and the Compliance Officer of a Hong Kong listed company. He was found by the Court of First Instance in a court action filed by Securities and Futures Commission to have breached his director's duties to the company by falsely putting forward a non-existent agreement, causing the company to wrongly pay a dividend of RMB18.69 million. The respondent was ordered to be disqualified from being a director or involved in the management of any listed or unlisted corporation in Hong Kong for five years.
The respondent was found to have not complied with the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and was guilty of professional misconduct. |
Order:
Penalty:
Costs:
|
| 26 June 2018 |
Seto Man Fai
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute and being guilty of professional misconduct.
The respondent was a former practising certified public accountant whose name was removed from the register for 5 years with effect from 22 March 2018 pursuant to an earlier disciplinary order. He was previously a director of a corporate practice, which has now been de-registered. The corporate practice audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company for the year ended 31 March 2011 and the period ended 31 December 2011 and expressed unmodified auditor's opinions. The respondent was the engagement director of those audits. There were significant deficiencies in the accounting treatment of certain acquisition transactions, convertible bonds issued and share options and warrants granted which were included in the financial statements. The respondent claimed that relevant audit procedures were carried out on those items but he failed to provide any working papers, claiming that they were withheld by a third party. |
Order:
Penalty:
Costs:
|
| 20 June 2018 |
1. Andrew David Ross Press release: (ENG)(CHI)
|
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 3rd Respondent was a newly appointed auditor who audited the consolidated financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 March 2012. The 1st Respondent was a director of the corporate practice who issued the auditor's report. The 2nd Respondent was a director of the corporate practice who was substantially involved in the audit.
The group's financial statements in previous years included errors in the accounting treatment of a substantial acquisition. Those errors affected the 2012 financial statements. Deficiencies were found in the audit procedures conducted by the respondents on the balances pertaining to the acquisition. Further, the 3rd Respondent did not have adequate policies and procedures for clear designation of engagement director and appointment of an engagement quality control reviewer in the subject audit. |
Order:
Penalty:
Costs:
|
| 24 May 2018 |
1. Baker Tilly Hong Kong Limited Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 1st Respondent was in breach of a number of auditing standards and HKSQC1. The 2nd Respondent failed to act diligently in accordance with sections 100.4(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 1st Respondent audited the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 May 2006 The 2nd Respondent was the director who had substantial involvement in the audit. |
Order: Penalty: Costs:
|
| 15 May 2018 |
1. Tang Wai Hung 2. Chow Chi Kit 3. W.H. Tang & Partners CPA Limited Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 3rd respondent issued an unqualified auditor's opinion on the 2012 financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company, and its subsidiaries. The 1st respondent was the engagement director and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer of the audit. There were non-compliance with financial reporting standards and auditing irregularities in relation to an acquisition recorded in the financial statements. |
Order: 1st Respondent 2nd Respondent Penalty: 2nd Respondent 3rd Respondent |
| 2 May 2018 |
Yan Kwok Ting, Sunny
Press release: |
Guilty of dishonourable conduct.
The respondent was a licensed person under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and an employee of a company which sponsored a listing on the Growth Enterprise Market board. The Securities and Futures Commission investigated into the company's submissions to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong about due diligence work it carried out as the sponsor. The Commission found the respondent guilty of providing false and misleading information during the investigation, and prohibited him from re-entering the industry for 4 years. The Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal subsequently dismissed the respondent's appeal and upheld the Commission's finding and decision. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs for 5 years with effect from 13 June 2018 Penalty: - Cost HK$262,499. Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 25 April 2018 |
Yeung, Tat Kwong |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The Respondent issued Accountant's Reports on a firm of solicitors for three years, in which he failed to report the firm's breaches of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules . The firm did not prepare client account reconciliations, client ledgers and office ledgers. During the Institute's enquiry, the Respondent was unable to provide copies of his working papers, claiming that the hardcopies were misplaced and his computer hard disk had failed.
|
Order:
Penalty: Costs:
|
| 20 April 2018 |
Chan Kin Cheong |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The respondent is the sole proprietor of two practices. He is responsible for the practices' quality control system and the quality of the practices' audit engagements. When carrying out a practice review, the reviewer found that the practices failed to implement an adequate system of quality control. Also, a number of significant deficiencies were found in an audit engagement. In addition, the respondent was found to have provided false and/or misleading information during the practice review and in the electronic self–assessment questionnaire which was submitted to the reviewer. |
Order: Penalty: |
| 6 April 2018 |
1. HLB Hodgson Impey Cheng 2. Cheng Chung Ching, Raymond 3. Lai Tak Shing, Jonathan Press release: |
Failure or neglect by the 1st and 2nd Respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Standard on Assurance Engagements 200 "High Level Assurance Engagements" (SAE 200). Failure or neglect by the 1st and 3rd Respondents to observe, maintain or otherwise apply SAE 200 and Hong Kong Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 "Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information".
The 1st Respondent issued compliance reports on a corporation engaged in securities dealing under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) and the preceding Securities Ordinance (Cap. 333) for three years. The 2nd Respondent was the engagement partner in the first year. The 3rd Respondent was the engagement partner in the second and third years.
The complaints against the three Respondents relate to breaches of the standards of assurance practices and sufficiency of documentation in the work undertaken by the Respondents for the securities firm for three relevant fiscal years. |
Order: Reprimand for all three respondents
Penalty: 1st Respondent HK$400,000
2nd Respondent HK$300,000
3rd Respondent HK$300,000
Costs: HK$3,000,000
|
| 27 March 2018 |
1. Lau Shiu Wai, Franklin |
Failure or neglect by the 3rd respondent to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard on Auditing ("HKSA") 230 and HKSA 500. Failure or neglect by the 1st respondent to act diligently in accordance with section 100.5 (c) as elaborated in section 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants ("COE").
Failure or neglect by the 2nd respondent to act diligently in accordance with section 100.5 (c) as elaborated in section 130.1 of the COE for failure to carry out an objective engagement quality control review under HKSA 220.
The 3rd respondent audited the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the years ended 30 June 2011 and 2012. The 1st respondent was the engagement director who issued the auditor's reports on behalf of the 3rd respondent and the 2nd respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer.
|
Order: 3rd Respondent |
| 25 August 2017 |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply (i) HKSQC 1 "Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements"; (ii) HKSA 500 "Audit Evidence"; and (iii) HKSAE 3000 "Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information".
The complaint arose from findings of a practice review visit on the Respondent's practice. The Respondent was found to have failed to implement an adequate system of quality control. In addition, a number of significant deficiencies were identified in the Practice's audits and assurance engagements.
The Respondent's appeal against the Disciplinary Committee's decision was struck out by the Court of Appeal on 6 April 2018. |
Order: Penalty:
|
|
| 1 March 2018 |
1.Lam Kwan, Anthony & CPA Limited Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply auditing standards issued by the Institute. The 2nd respondent audited the financial statements of a renovation project of a residential building. The 1st respondent was the engagement director.
The respondents failed to understand the scope of the audit engagement and plan it accordingly. They also failed to obtain sufficient evidence and adequately document audit procedures. The complaint was made under section 34(1AAA) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance.
|
Order:
Penalty: |
| 20 February 2018 | Chan Wing Keung, Simon Press release: (ENG) (CHI) |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The respondent issued an accountant's report on a solicitor's firm, in which he failed to report the firm's breaches of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules including rules over handling of client money. The respondent did not comply with a number of provisions of the Institute's Practice Note 840 when he carried out procedures in relation to the accountant's report. |
Order: Reprimand; and cancellation of practising certificate with effect from 3 April 2018 and no practising certificate shall be issued to the respondent for 12 months. Penalty: - Cost: HK$ 56,204 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 8 September 2015 |
1.Wong Tak Man, Stephen 2. RSM Hong Kong (formerly RSM Nelson Wheeler) Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The Respondents audited the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries and were found to have failed to properly interpret Hong Kong Accounting Standard ("HKAS") 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, which requires an entity to recognize an impairment loss in profit or loss for an available-for-sale financial asset when objective evidence of impairment exists.
The Respondents' appeal against the Disciplinary Committee's decision was dismissed by the Court of Final Appeal on 22 December 2017 (FACV10/2017). |
Penalty: HK$10,000 each Cost HK$95,401 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 7 February 2018 |
Yu Oi Kee Press release: |
Convicted of an offence involving dishonesty.
The respondent was convicted in the District Court in August 2014 of one count of conspiring as an agent to use a document with intent to deceive her principal, and one count of accepting an advantage as an agent.
The respondent was a director of a subsidiary of a Hong Kong listed company. She conspired with another director to make a false statement in the board meeting minutes to conceal the interests of that director in a material disposal transaction entered into by the company. Accordingly, the transaction was incorrectly announced as an unconnected transaction and was not reported to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong as a connected transaction. As a reward for her part in processing the transaction, she privately accepted the listed company's shares given to her by the other director. She later sold the shares in the market and received about HK$317,000. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs for 4 years with effect from 24 March 2018 Penalty: - Cost HK$36,165 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 31 January 2018 |
Seto Man Fai Press release: |
The respondent was the managing director of a corporate practice, Parker Randall CF (H.K.) CPA Limited, which is now de-registered. The corporate practice audited the consolidated financial statements of three Hong Kong listed companies for financial periods ended in 2010 and 2011. The respondent was the engagement director.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) enquired into breaches of auditing standards in the audits. The respondent failed to provide the working papers and repeatedly gave inconsistent and unbelievable explanations to the FRC as to why the working papers were unavailable. There were irregularities in the audits in relation to accounting for an acquisition, use of the going concern basis and failure to appoint an engagement quality control reviewer.
The respondent was found to have breached a number of HKSAs, the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Ordinance and was guilty of professional misconduct. |
Order:
|
| 30 January 2018 |
Mak Wai Man Press release: |
The respondent was convicted of offences involving dishonesty. She was also in breach of the fundamental principle of Integrity under sections 100.5(a) and 110.2 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The respondent was convicted of three counts of offences under section 9 of the Theft Ordinance (Cap 210) after she forged the signature one of her employer's directors and drew a cheque in her own favour. As a result, the company dismissed her. Subsequently, she provided false information about her professional qualifications and work experience to another employer. That employer unknowingly submitted the false information in an Application Proof to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for listing purposes. The respondent failed to declare to the Institute that she had criminal convictions in the Institute's annual membership renewal. |
Order:
|
| 23 January 2018 |
Tso Yin Yee Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute and being guilty of professional misconduct.
The respondent is the sole proprietor of a Practice and is responsible for the Practice's quality control system and the quality of its assurance engagements. When carrying out a practice review, the reviewer found that the Practice failed to established and maintain an effective system of quality control. In addition, the reviewer found significant deficiencies in the Practice's audit and assurance engagements.
|
Order: Cancellation of practising certificate with effect from 6 March 2018 and no practising certificate shall be issued to the Respondent for 16 months Penalty: - Cost: HK$38,665 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 16 January 2018 |
1) Tam Tak Kuen, Alfred Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of Professional Behavior of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The 1st Respondent was the sole proprietor of the 2nd Respondent, a firm which is now de-registered. The Respondents breached their employer's obligation to make provident fund contributions for employees under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance on three occasions. They were fined by the relevant authorities for the breaches. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: HK$414,463.40 Costs: HK$32,781 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 5 January 2018 |
1) Andrew David Ross Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 3rd Respondent was in breach of a number of auditing standards and HKSQC1. The 1st and 2nd Respondents failed to act diligently in accordance with section 100.4 (c), as elaborated in sections 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. In addition, the 1st Respondent was in breach of HKSA220.
The 3rd Respondent audited the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the years ended 31 December 2008 and 2009. The 1st Respondent was the director who issued the auditor's reports on behalf of the 3rd Respondent and the 2nd Respondent, as a senior audit team member, was substantially involved in the audits of the financial statement.
|
Order:
Penalty: 3rd Respondent All Respondents
|
| 4 January 2018 |
Chan Hoi Shing Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply a number of professional standards and being guilty of professional misconduct.
The complaint arose from findings of a practice review visit on the Respondent's practice. The Respondent was found to have failed to establish and maintain an effective system of quality control and have misused qualified opinions to circumvent necessary audit procedures. |
Order: Cancellation of practising certificate with effect from 8 February 2018 and no practising certificate shall be issued to the Respondent for 6 months Penalty: - Cost: HK$25,000 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 12 December 2017 |
1) Baker Tilly Hong Kong Limited 2) Andrew David Ross 3) Kwok Lai Ha, Helena Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards, namely, the fundamental principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The Securities and Exchange Commission had imposed sanctions on the respondents for breaches of PCAOB auditing standards in their audit of a U.S. listed company. The respondents failed to identify material related party transactions and revise the audit planning regarding fraud risks in light of those transactions.
The 2nd respondent was the engagement director, and the 3rd respondent was the director-in-charge. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: 1st Respondent HK$100,000 2nd Respondent HK$70,000 3rd Respondent HK$30,000 Cost of HKICPA HK$300,000 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 12 October 2017 |
Tam Tak Kuen, Alfred Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSQC 1 and the fundamental principle of integrity under paragraphs 100.5(a) and 110.2 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, and guilty of professional misconduct.
The complaint arose from findings of a practice review visit on the Respondent's Practice. The Respondent was found to have failed to establish, maintain and document an effective system of quality control and provided false or misleading answers and/or furnished information recklessly in the electronic practice review self-assessment questionnaire. |
Order: Penalty:
|
| 5 September 2017 |
Tse Lap Fu, Lawrence Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute and being guilty of professional misconduct.
There were deficiencies in the audits of the financial statements of five private companies carried out by Tse's firm. The audit areas involved were related party transactions, deferred tax, inventory and evaluation of whether the financial statements were prepared in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. In addition, Tse's firm acted as auditor of one of the companies when it had a close business relationship with that company. |
Order:
Penalty: |
| 1 September 2017 |
So Kwok Keung, Keith Press release:
|
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply (i) Hong Kong Standard on Auditing ("HKSA") 230 "Audit Documentation"; and (ii) HKSA 500 "Audit Evidence".
So is a practising director of a corporate practice. The practice was selected for a practice review and significant deficiencies were found in the Practice's audit engagement of a Hong Kong listed company. So was the engagement director for the audit engagement. |
Order: Penalty:
|
| 14 August 2017 |
Poon Wai Kit Press release: |
Poon was convicted of theft in the District Court in July 2016. He also falsified or caused to be falsified documents.
Poon misappropriated a total sum of about HK$12 million during his employments with two companies. He falsified certain documents to cover up his acts. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs permanently with effect from 23 September 2017 Penalty: - Cost HK$17,130.00 Extract of Reasons and Order |
| 6 July 2017 |
Charles Pearson Fearn Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards and guilty of professional misconduct.
Fearn was the sole proprietor of a CPA firm which audited the financial statements of a company for four consecutive periods. The company was registered and regulated under the Trustee Ordinance to provide trust services. There were significant deficiencies in planning the audits, obtaining evidence and preparing audit documentation. As a result, Feam did not properly verify the company's compliance with the relevant legal and regulatory framework, the nature of significant balances between the company and related parties, and the implications of large sums of the company's client monies not being held separately at a bank. |
Order: Cancellation of practising certificate with effect from 15 August 2017 and no practising certificate shall be issued to the Respondent for 12 months.
Penalty: |
| 4 July 2017 |
Cheung Chun Bong Press release: |
Conviction of an offence involving dishonesty. Cheung was convicted in May 2016 at the Magistrates' Court of theft. |
Order: Reprimand |
| 9 June 2017 |
1) Lai Ka Cheung, Andrew 2) Andrew K. C. Lai & Company Press release: |
The 1st and the 2nd Respondent failed to comply with a number of professional standards in their audits and were guilty of professional misconduct as a result of their multiple and repeated failures.
The 1st Respondent is the sole proprietor of the 2nd Respondent which was the auditor an approved charitable institution in Hong Kong. The 2nd Respondent expressed an unqualified opinion in each of the auditor's reports issued on the Company's financial statements for six years ended from 31 March 2010 to 2015. Deficiencies were found in the audit work carried out by the respondents in all six years. |
Order:
2nd Respondent |
| 7 June 2017 |
Wong Kong Yiu, Press release: |
Wong failed to comply with the Corporate Practices (Registration) Rules and Corporate Practices (Professional Indemnity) Rules. He was also in breach of section 110.2 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and guilty of dishonourable conduct. In addition, Wong failed to comply with a direction issued by the Practice Review Committee ("PRC") without reasonable excuse.
Wong was the sole practising director and shareholder of a corporate practice. He failed to renew Professional Indemnity Insurance ("PII") cover of his practice for four consecutive years and to arrange Run-Off cover upon the de-registration of the practice. In addition, Wong falsely declared to the Institute that the practice had PII cover when he applied for renewal of the practice's registration for each of the four years.
Wong's other practice was selected for a practice review. He failed to comply with a direction of the PRC requiring him to cooperate with the practice reviewer to confirm a date for the site visit. |
Order: Removal from the register of CPAs for 5 years with effect from 19 July 2017
Penalty: -
Cost HK$94,050
|
| 7 June 2017 |
Chan Wone Yee Press release: |
Chan was convicted of an offence involving dishonesty and guilty of conduct which renders her unfit to become a certified public accountant under by-laws 34(1)(b) and 34(1)(d) of the Professional Accountants By-Laws.
Chan was registered as a student. She falsified a reference letter purporting that it was issued by her former employer and used the letter to successfully apply for a job. Chan was convicted in the Magistrates' Courts of obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception under the Theft Ordinance. In replying to the Institute's enquiry of her about the matter, Chan made untruthful submissions. |
Order: Penalty: Cost: |
| 17 May 2017 |
1) Pan-China (H.K.) CPA Limited Press release: |
The 1st and 2nd Respondents were in breach of auditing standards and the Fundamental Principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The 3rd Respondent was in breach of HKSA220.
The 1st Respondent audited the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries for the years ended 31 December 2010 and 2011 and expressed an unmodified auditor's opinion for each of the two years. The 2nd Respondent was the engagement director for both years. The 3rd Respondent was the engagement quality control reviewer for 2011 audit.
The complaint concerned deficiencies in the audit work conducted on impairment assessment of the company's interests in natural resource extraction and mining projects included in the financial statements. |
Order:
Penalty:
Cost of HKICPA
|
| 11 May 2017 |
Ip Wing Lun, Allan Press release: |
Guilty of dishonourable conduct under section 34(1)(a)(x) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance.
Ip was convicted of conspiracy to offer advantages to the chairman of a listed company in Hong Kong. The advantages were offered to induce the chairman to act in a fraudulent scheme concerning the company's substantial acquisition of a mining business. Ip participated actively in that scheme. |
Order:
Penalty:
Cost:
|
| 6 December 2016 |
So Kin Po Press release: |
Convicted of an offence involving dishonesty.
So submitted falsified documents in his application to the Continuing Education Fund of the Hong Kong Government ("CEF") for reimbursement of the Qualification Programme course fees. The CEF office discovered the falsified documents and reported the matter to the police. So was convicted in the Magistrates' Courts for fraud. |
Order: Penalty: Cost: |
| 12 October 2016 |
Wong Wing Hong Press release: |
Wong, as the engagement partner, failed to act diligently in accordance with section 100.4(c) as elaborated in section 130.1 of the then applicable Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants because the firm, of which he was formerly a partner, failed or neglected to observe, maintain or otherwise apply a number of auditing standards in an audit of the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company and its subsidiaries. |
Order: Reprimand; and Penalty: Cost:
|
| 12 September 2016 |
1)Yuen Suk Ching
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 1st Respondent was in breach of HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements and HKSA 500 Audit Evidence. The 2nd Respondent was in breach of HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements.
The complaint concerned deficiencies in the audit work carried out on an investment in two convertible bonds recorded in the financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company.
|
Order: Penalty: 2nd Respondent
Cost of HKICPA
Cost of FRC
|
| 20 September 2016 |
Chow Chi Hing Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the fundamental principle of professional competence and due care under section 100.5(c), as elaborated in section 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
Chow practiced in his own name and issued an auditor's report on the financial statements of a private company for the year ended 31 December 2011. The auditor's report did not include a modified opinion in respect of the Company's failure to disclose a material amount owed to a director and payments to directors as related party transactions in the financial statements. |
Order: Reprimand Penalty: Cost:
|
| 11 August 2016 |
Ng Kwong Sang Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSQC 1 and the fundamental principles of integrity and professional competence and due care under sections 100, 110 and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The complaint arose from findings of a practice review visit on the Respondent's Practice. The Respondent was found to have failed to establish, maintain and document an effective system of quality control in respect of monitoring and provided false or misleading answers in the electronic self-assessment questionnaire. |
Order:
Penalty:
|
| 9 August 2016 |
Au Yeung Keung, Steve Press release: |
Guilty of dishonourable conduct. In 2002 to 2003, the Respondent was the General Manager - Financial and Commercial Affairs and Company Secretary of a Hong Kong listed company. He knowingly made or assisted in making misrepresentations or misleading statements to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited that an investment project in a gas pipeline business in 2002 was a genuine one when he knew that it was not. He also participated in the subsequent sham disposal of the project in 2003. |
Order: Penalty: N/A Cost:
|
| 28 July 2016 |
Lam Kin Kun, Arthur
Press release: |
Failed or neglected to comply with a direction issued by the Practice Review Committee ("PRC") under section 32F(2)(b) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance. |
Order:
Penalty: Cost:
|
| 20 June 2016 |
Wu Kit Man, Athena Press release: |
Conviction of an offence involving dishonesty. The Respondent was convicted of theft in Hong Kong for having taken cash belonging to another person from an ATM machine. |
Order: Extract of Reasons and Order
|
|
21 April 2016
|
Sek Wai Tong, Stonely
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSQC 1 and a number of other professional standards.
The complaint arose from findings of the follow-up practice review visit on the Respondent's Practice. The Respondent was found to have continued to fail to implement an adequate system of quality control and address audit deficiencies which were identified in the previous practice review. |
Order:
|
| 8 March 2016 |
Chan Ying Kit
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Hong Kong Standard of Auditing ("HKSA") 500 Audit Evidence and HKSA 700 Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements.
Chan audited the financial statements of two Hong Kong private companies for the period ended 31 December 2010. In one of the audits, Chan failed to obtain sufficient evidence for a material expenditure. In the other audit, he failed to assess the adequacy of financial statement disclosure and obtain sufficient evidence to conclude the financial statements were free of material misstatements, regarding investments in two subsidiaries.
|
Order:
|
| 3 February 2016 |
Chan Bing Chung
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply paragraphs 100.4(c) and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants for failure to act diligently when carrying out the work as an engagement quality control reviewer ("EQCR") in the audit of the 2009 financial statements of a Hong Kong listed company. The company failed to correctly account for issued share options in its 2007, 2008 and 2009 financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard 2 "Shared-based Payment".
The Respondent's appeal against the Disciplinary Committee's decision was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 6 March 2018 (CACV 47/2016). Following this, his practising certificate was cancelled on 4 April 2018. |
Order:
Penalty: Cost:
|
| 31 December 2015 |
1) Leung Kam Man Victor
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply the Corporate Practices (Registration) Rules, Hong Kong Standard on Auditing 230 and 500, sections 130 and 440 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and guilty of professional misconduct. The 2nd Respondent was appointed as auditor of six private companies and completed audits of the financial statements of two of the companies. The 1st Respondent was the engagement director. There were deficiencies in the two audits completed and in the engagement acceptance procedures for all six companies.
|
Order:
2nd Respondent
Penalty: Cost:
|
| 29 December 2015 |
Ho Lap Wing, Anthony
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply HKSQC 1 "Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements", Hong Kong Standard on Auditing ("HKSA") 500 "Audit Evidence" and paragraph 100.5(c) and 130 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants ("COE"). The Respondent's practice was selected for practice review. Subsequent follow up practice review visit indicated that the Practice continued to fail to take appropriate actions in response to the quality control deficiencies previously identified. In addition, the practice review also identified a number of deficiencies in the Practice's audit engagements of two clients. |
Order:
Penalty: Cost:
|
| 21 December 2015 |
1) Choi Man Chau, Michael Limited
Press release:
|
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 1st and the 3rd Respondents were in breach of HKSAs 230 Audit Documentation and 500 Audit Evidence. The 2nd Respondent was in breach of HKSA 220 Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements.
In addition, the 1st and 2nd Respondents were in breach in the Fundamental Principle of Professional Competence and Due Care in sections 100 and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. |
Order: Penalty: 3rd Respondent
Cost: |
| 18 December 2015 |
1) Cheng Chi Pang
Press release: |
Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply professional standards issued by the Institute.
The 1st Respondent was in breach of HKSA 220 and paragraphs 100.4 and 130.1 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants
The 2nd Respondent was in breach of a number of auditing standards.
|
Order: Penalty:
Cost: All two respondents HK$280,788.7
|
| 4 December 2015 |
Poon Ming Pui
Press release: |
Conducting himself in a manner inconsistent with the good reputation of a professional accountant in breach of Statement 1.200 which applied up to June 2006, and failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply Fundamental Principle of Integrity in sections 100 and 110 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants which applied from July 2006.
The Respondent made several materially false or misleading declarations to his employers in which he failed to disclose securities trading activities he carried out through two of his friends' securities accounts. The Securities and Futures Commission took disciplinary action against the Respondent, banning him from re-entering the securities industry for 10 months from January 2014. |
Order: Penalty:
Cost: |
| 28 October 2015 |
1) Lo Shung Chi 2) Ngai Wai Chung 3) Jonten Hopkins CPA Ltd.
Press release: |
The 3rd Respondent failed or neglected to observe, maintain or otherwise apply a number of auditing standards in the audit of a Hong Kong listed company.
All three respondents were in breach of the fundamental principle of "Professional Competence and Due Care" in section 100 and 130 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants; and The 1st and 3rd Respondents were guilty of professional misconduct. |
Order: 1st Respondent 2nd & 3rd Respondents. Reprimand
Penalty: 1st Respondent HK$100,000 2nd Respondent HK$40,000 3rd Respondent HK$80,000
Costs: HK$32,500
|
| 11 September 2015 | 34(1)(a)(v) | Failure or neglect to observe a direction issued by the Practice Review Committee under section 32F(2) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance. |
To cooperate with the Institute to complete a practice review on his practice. Payments of penalty and costs of totaling HK$283,468.
|
| 21 September 2015 | 34(1)(a)(vi) | Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply namely paragraph 10, 11, 12 and /or 17 of Hong Kong Standard of Auditing 700. The Respondent failed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to conclude that the financial statements as a whole are free from the material misstatement. |
Reprimand and payment of penalty and costs of totaling HK$69,473.
|
| 18 September 2015 | 34(1)(a)(vi) | Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply multiple professional standards as provided in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants 110.1, 110.2, 290.4, 290.6 and 290.134; Hong Kong Standards on Auditing 220,300,315,500 and 705; Hong Kong Accounting Standard 37. The Respondent was guilty of serious professional misconduct covering audit deficiencies, ethical requirements, policies and procedures and quality control. |
Reprimand and payments of penalty and costs totaling HK$78,696
|
| 11 September 2015 |
Chow Ho Tung, Anthony
Press release: |
Guilty of dishonourable conduct. Chow was convicted of 9 charges involving conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to defraud, and publishing a false statement in a company's annual report. The District Court sentenced Chow to imprisonment for 5 years and 4 months. |
Order: Penalty: N/A Cost:
|
| 10 September 2015 | 34(1)(a)(vi) | Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply namely paragraph 100.4(e) of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (effective on 30 June 2006) ('the Code') and elaborated in section 150 Code, as evidenced by their breach of their director's undertaking for failure to use their best endeavours to procure the Company's compliance with the Listing Rules. |
Reprimand and payments of penalty and costs of totaling HK$82,000.
|
| 26 August 2015 | 34(1)(a)(vi) | Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply a professional standard, namely Hong Kong Standard on Auditing 500 Audit Evidence. The Respondent failed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence in respect of cash and cash equivalents in the financial statements. As a result, the balance was materially overstated. |
Reprimand and payments of penalty and costs of totaling HK$36,118. |
| 19 August 2015 | 34(1AAA) | Failure or neglect to observe, maintain or otherwise apply sections 100.5, 110 and 150 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The Respondent breached of the fundamental principle of integrity by misrepresenting professional and academic qualifications and other credentials in internet social media. |
Reprimand and payments of penalty and costs of totaling HK$47,436
|
