US Accounting Watchdog Punishes Former Vice President of Auditing of KPMG According to Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Tuesday said it had sanctioned the former vice president of auditing at KPMG LLP for his role in the leak of high-profile information from the watchdog. accounting major.

PCAOB fined Scott Marcello $100,000, the largest fine ever imposed on an individual, for failing to properly supervise KPMG employees involved in a scheme to illegally obtain and use confidential information PCAOB confidentiality, the committee said in a statement. The agreement marks the first time the PCAOB has imposed sanctions for “reasonably not monitoring”, it said.

During Marcello’s tenure as KPMG’s vice president of audits from July 2015 to April 2017, several of Marcello’s subordinates including his direct report obtained secret lists. about upcoming audits, which they used to help pass PCAOB audits. The board of directors said Marcelo failed to take appropriate action in early 2016.

KPMG did not respond to a request for comment and Marcello could not be immediately reached for comment.

PCAOB President Erica Williams said the “first of its kind” disciplinary action was a sign of the board’s commitment to sanctioning top-level personnel at the biggest companies.

In 2019, KPMG had to pay a civil penalty for illegally using PCAOB data and cheating in training exams. Former KPMG employees were found guilty of participating in the scheme after the charges were made public in 2018.