Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title CA ANZ May Discipline 12 KPMG Accountants for Cheating Degree of recognition International Media name/outlet Regulation Asia Media type Web Duration/Length/Size 330 words Country/Territory Australia Date 23/04/22 Description More than 400 CA ANZ members were found to have cheated on online training tests, but only 12 are being put through the body's disciplinary process.
CA ANZ (Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand) is subjecting 12 KPMG members who it says engaged in training-related misconduct.
Last September, US PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) censured KPMG Australia and fined it USD 450,000 for “widespread” cheating on online training tests which lasted for at least five years until early 2020.
KPMG Australia itself also sanctioned 1,131 individuals, or approximately 12 percent of its personnel, for their involvement in training test answer sharing. This included forcing two partners to retire and issuing formal warnings and pay cuts against 16 other partners.
Following the PCAOB's decision, CA ANZ's Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) launched an investigation into the training misconduct. The investigation identified 422 CA ANZ members who engaged in the misconduct "to some degree".
The PCC has determined that 410 of these cases did not warrant further action, considering the sanctions and remedial actions already applied by KPMG Australia in response to the PCAOB findings. The remaining 12 individuals are being put through CA ANZ's "member professional conduct process", which could result in disciplinary action and/or penalties.
CA ANZ member Tony Alizzi reportedly criticised the body’s seven-month investigation as “totally inadequate” and lacking in transparency and consistency, adding that it undermines the entire profession and shows that KPMG receives special treatment.
“I think CA ANZ’s response is totally inadequate. They have not acted quickly enough and the lack of details in the findings don’t give members confidence they are taking this seriously,” he said.
Dr John Dumay, a professor of accounting and finance at Macquarie University and a chartered accountant, expressed concerns about the delayed process and the decision to let 410 KPMG members off the hook.
InAsia Media Pte. Ltd.
Document REGASI0020220423ei4n0002uProducer/Author Editors, Regulation Asia Persons John Dumay