U.S. accounting watchdog levies largest-ever fine against individual

Washington, Oct 18, 2022

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on Tuesday said it has fined an accountant with its largest-ever civil monetary penalty against an individual and sanctioned his New York-based firm.

The PCAOB, which oversees auditors, said Jonathan B. Taylor, a certified public accountant and partner at Spielman Koenigsberg and Parker, misled regulators during two inspections and a subsequent investigation. Taylor added or altered about 80 audit work papers for a 2021 inspection and told the PCAOB that quality reviews had been performed when he knew they had not, the watchdog said.

SKP failed to comply with quality control standards, the PCAOB said.

The PCAOB fined Taylor and the firm $150,000 each. It barred Taylor from being associated with a registered public accounting firm and revoked SKP's registration. SKP can reapply for registration after five years with evidence of remediation measures.

Neither Taylor nor the firm admitted or denied the PCAOB's findings. The firm did not respond immediately to request for comment and Taylor could not be immediately reached.

[Reuters]