Two CAs, audit firm face the music

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) has taken disciplinary actions against two Chartered Accountants (CAs) and an audit firm as they were found guilty of professional misconduct.
The measures, taken recently under different clauses of the ICAB bylaws, include barring them from auditing the listed companies, monetary penalty and reprimand.
Under the actions, the council of the institute barred A Matin & Co., a CA firm, from auditing listed companies for two years.
It also imposed fine of Tk 0.1 million on A.K. Abdul Matin, FCA.
The audit firm was, among others, identified for not maintaining ICAB's quality assurance requirements regarding the audit of listed companies while auditing Bangas Ltd for the years ended on June 30, 2012 and 2013, according to the institute.
Md. Shahadat Hossain Khan, FCA, partner of S.H. Khan & Co., was fined Tk 0.1 million and reprimanded.
The ICAB also imposed fine of Tk 50,000 on Md. Anisur Rahman, FCA, partner of Rahman Anis & Co., and reprimanded the auditor.
If the three CAs fail to pay fines within three months from the date of contact, their membership with ICAB will be suspended for one year.
The ICAB council also cancelled registration of Md. Abdul Majid, ACMA, a student of Rahman Anis & Co., and barred him from taking any ICAB examination in future.
He was found involved in full-time service with Labaid Properties Ltd during his articledship, violating the bylaw and terms and conditions at deed of articled of ICAB bylaw.
The audit and assurance quality of the majority of firms, engaged in auditing the financials, is reportedly not up to the mark in the country.
A high official of ICAB, however, earlier said the scale of measuring the quality was set at much higher level.
The institute took rigorous measures to take the audit and assurance quality, transparency and accountability of its member firms to a higher level, he added.
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