Auditors' group has scrapped audit licences of seven chartered accountants (CAs) and firms and reprimanded five others for professional misconduct, an official said.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) also slapped monetary penalty on the errant accountants and firms ranging from Tk 50,000 to Tk 200,000.
"We've recently taken the action after the allegations were proved true against the auditors and firms. The measure is a part of the continued process of our actions against professional misconduct," AKM Rahmat Ullah, ICAB Secretary, told the FE Saturday.
The auditors and firms, suspended for two years are Nurul Huda Monsury FCA, partner of M/s Nasir Mohammad & Co., Chartered Accountants and former proprietor of the same firm, M/s Habib Sarwar & Co., Chartered Accountants, M/S Ahsan Kamal Sadeque & Co., Chartered Accountants and its partners Md Sadequr Rahman FCA, Md Fokrul Islam FCA, M/S MN Islam & Co., Chartered Accountants and M/s Dewan Nazrul Islam & Co., Chartered Accountants. The last two were also penalised.
The reprimanded and penalised firms are M/s Ahmed Zaker & Co., Chartered Accountants, M/s MRH Dey & Co., Chartered Accountants, M/s G Mostafa & Co., Chartered Accountants, M/s MM Rahman & Co., Chartered Accountants and M/s Islam Quazi Shafique & Co., Chartered Accountants.
Their offences comprised signing of more than one set of financial statements of the same company and auditors' unwillingness to discharge their professional duties. A company also prepared financial statements without complying with the Bangladesh Standards on Auditing (BSA).
Other charges comprised non-maintenance of the ICAB's quality control requirements for listed audit clients, non-payment of student allowances as prescribed by the ICAB, non-compliance of pertinent by-law provisions and ICAB's circular in this connection and violation of the securities regulator's relevant rule in conducting audit of a listed company.
The council of the institute took the punitive actions under the ICAB By-laws 2004 in response to the complaints received from the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the Quality Assurance Board (QAB) of the ICAB.
The institute formally disclosed the punitive measures on September 29.
Earlier late last year, the ICAB also reprimanded 20 CAs as they were found guilty of professional misconduct.
Since its inception immediately after liberation till last year, the ICAB did not disclose information on such punitive measures outside. It just informed the complainants and punished CAs or CA firms about the actions, officials said.
Last year, the institute formally decided to make such information public by publishing in its monthly bulletin for the sake of ensuring transparency in the profession, officials said.
As information becomes old when it is printed in the bulletin published monthly, the ICAB recently also decided to upload the measures on its website-www.icab.org.bd---immediately after the actions are taken at the council.
"Disclosure of the punitive actions will enable the stakeholders, especially the listed companies, to take decision regarding hiring of those guilty CAs and firms to audit their financial statements," Mr Rahmat Ullah said earlier.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
