SEC Charges Two Former KPMG Auditors for Improper Professional Conduct
Zoya Malik
February 24, 2021 (Last Updated February 24th, 2021 13:45)
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On 23 February 2021, The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended two former KPMG auditors from practicing before the SEC in connection with settled charges against the two for improper professional conduct during an audit of the now defunct, not-for-profit College of New Rochelle. The SEC previously charged the college’s former controller with fraud in connection with the college’s fiscal year 2015 financial statements
According to the SEC’s orders, former KPMG partner Christopher Stanley approved, and former KPMG senior manager Jennifer Stewart authorised, the issuance of an unmodified audit opinion on the college’s fiscal year 2015 financial statements, despite not having completed critical audit steps. As described in the orders, KPMG’s work on the audit had stalled because the college’s former controller had provided the audit team with inaccurate, incomplete, and contradictory information. On Nov. 30, 2015, the former controller and the college’s president informed Stanley and Stewart that the college needed KPMG to issue the audit report before the end of the day. That afternoon, despite the existence of numerous outstanding open items and unanswered questions, Stanley and Stewart decided to issue the audit report.