Becton Dickinson pays $175M for misleading investors about flawed IV pump system
Becton Dickinson medical device company will pay $175 million for “repeatedly” misleading investors about its Alaris infusion pump, a product the company knew was flawed and was sold without the required patient-safety approvals, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
Survey: Organizations broadly adopting AI, with varied governance
The majority of businesses are using AI and doing so without governance–a compliance gap that poses extreme risks, a new survey by Compliance Week and GAN Integrity found. A webinar will discuss why it is crucial to have AI governance, how to implement it, and what strategies to strengthen programs.
KPMG report on regs in 2025: Use data analytics to predict, respond to Trump administration changes
Regulations are sure to be rolled back under President Donald Trump, but the question is which regulations, and how much? Is your organization as prepared to respond when regulations are loosened as it was when they were tightened?
Poor internal controls led to FCPA violations in Moog’s $1.7M settlement with SEC
A company culture geared to “win business at any cost” encouraged employees of New York-based aerospace manufacturer Moog to pay bribes in India to win contracts, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged.
EV maker Fisker under investigation by SEC amid bankruptcy, ICFR weaknesses
Electric vehicle maker Fisker is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over potential violations of federal securities laws related to the preservation of records and documents involving its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Five firms fined by PCAOB for alleged communications, reporting failures
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board fined five consultancies, including Ernst & Young, as the agency continues its crackdown on firms violating audit committee communications rules and reporting requirements.
Prager Metis agrees to pay $2M over failed audits, including FTX
Waves of fallout from the collapse of cryptocurrency trading platform FTX continue to ripple, as accounting firm Prager Metis has learned.
SEC charges Kubient 'gatekeepers' with failing to stop CEO's AI fraud
Gatekeepers including chief financial officers and the chair of the audit committee have a responsibility to shareholders to report fraud wherever they find it–especially when that fraud involves an artificial intelligence tool meant to combat fraud.
Chinese regulators impose six-month ban, $62M fine on PwC’s China unit
Chinese authorities banned PwC’s Chinese unit from performing audits in the country for six months, labeling the subsidiary’s flawed audit work as complicit in the failure of giant property developer Evergrande.
Circor avoids fine after self-reporting accounting control violations to SEC
Massachusetts-based technology company Circor International settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding deficient internal accounting controls without paying a fine.
Austal reaches $49M deal with DOJ, SEC over accounting, securities fraud, false claims
The U.S.-based subsidiary of Australian defense contractor Austal will pay $48.8 million in fines and restitution to settle allegations that it committed accounting and securities fraud, misled federal auditors, and violated the False Claims Act.
FCA fines PwC $19.5M for failing to report fraud at London Capital & Finance
PricewaterhouseCoopers agreed to pay 15 million pounds (U.S. $19.5 million) for failing to report suspicions of fraud taking place at investment firm London Capital & Finance before it collapsed, the Financial Conduct Authority announced.
Ideanomics, execs to pay $5M over allegedly misleading auditor
Ideanomics, two former execs, and its current chief executive agreed to pay about $5 million and hire an independent compliance professional to settle allegations made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the company misled the public about its performance.
FRC orders EY to pay $376K over 2021 audit of Evraz
The Financial Reporting Council ordered a unit Ernst & Young UK to pay 296,000 pounds (U.S. $376,000) over the firm’s 2021 audit of Russia mining group Evraz.
LexisNexis survey: Compliance costs soared for U.K. banks in 2023
Nearly all but a tiny minority of financial institutions saw their costs of financial crime compliance rise in 2023, a survey by LexisNexis and Oxford Economics found.
New U.K. government moves to transform FRC into ARGA
Within two weeks of gaining power, the U.K.’s newly elected Labor government has confirmed its intention to beef up the audit regulator and strengthen corporate governance.
CPE Webcast: A unified approach to close and consolidation
Join Clearsulting and BlackLine as they discuss transformation strategies organizations take to achieve accurate, efficient, and insightful financial results while unlocking future-ready financial operations.
FRC dings MacIntyre Hudson $156K over public interest entity violations
The U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council fined audit firm MacIntyre Hudson (MHA) and two employees for breaching the agency’s requirements.
Lessons from PwC’s failure to squelch dissent in the ranks with ‘silent layoffs’
It’s been a trying time for staff at firms with redundancies, affecting morale as layoffs mount amid an effort to silence dissent in the ranks for those departing.
Ex-Outcome Health execs sentenced for overbilled ad revenue, misleading auditor
Three former executives of Chicago-based Outcome Health, a healthcare technology company, were sentenced for misleading an auditor, clients, lenders, and investors about a scheme to sell $45 million in overbilled advertisements.
Silvergate Bank to pay $63M to Fed, California over BSA/AML deficiencies
Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will pay a total of $63 million penalties to California and the Federal Reserve Board to settle charges that its anti-money laundering program failed to properly monitor more than $1 trillion worth of customer transactions.
SEC orders Meta Materials to pay $1M over market manipulation, fraud
A Nevada energy and manufacturing company headquartered in Nova Scotia agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged market manipulation and fraud, while the agency further investigates its former chief executives.
CPE Webcast: Risk management at the speed of business
Are your risk management operations keeping up with the speed of business? In today’s digitized and interconnected world, organizations face increasing risk at a rapid pace.
CFPB proposes $3.95M fine against Freedom Mortgage over repeated data errors
Freedom Mortgage Corp. would have to pay a $3.95 million fine and carry out regular auditing and testing of its loan data under a proposed order by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Ex-Synchronoss CFO fined, banned over SOX violations
The former chief financial officer at Synchronoss Technologies was fined a ban from the industry for widespread Sarbanes-Oxley Act violations.
Former CEO of AI recruiter Joonko charged with $27M fraud
The former chief executive officer of closed AI recruitment startup Joonko faces up to 40 years in prison and the potential of penalties levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly defrauding investors of more than $27 million.
PCAOB Chair Williams appointed to second term
Erica Williams was reappointed to a second term as chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board after an ambitious first three years in the role that have seen the agency work to update many of its standards deemed outdated.
HF Foods to pay $3.9M to settle execs’ alleged fraud
Food service distributor HF Foods Group agreed to pay a $3.9 million penalty as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding alleged fraudulent conduct carried out by its former chief executive officer and former chief financial officer.
Reignited calls to tighten up AML in London, crown dependencies
Despite repeated interventions, fines, and negative publicity, money laundering is rife in U.K. financial services firms, according to Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell.
Epoch Times CFO charged in $67M money laundering scheme
The chief financial officer of the Epoch Times was charged with laundering at least $67 million in illegally obtained funds to bolster the fortunes of the newspaper and himself.
Autodesk says no restatements following accounting probe
Software company Autodesk said it won’t restate several years of financial statements following an audit committee investigation into potential accounting misconduct.
Treasury, other agencies issue voluntary carbon market principles
The Treasury Department and other U.S. agencies announced a coordinated federal policy concerning carbon credits and other voluntary incentives to encourage businesses and agriculture to cut their carbon footprints.
Broadway Financial discloses ICFR weaknesses due to training shortfalls
Los Angeles-based bank holding company Broadway Financial Corp. disclosed in a public filing weaknesses discovered in its internal control over financial reporting because of training shortfalls.
PCAOB dings MaloneBailey $400K over ‘pervasive’ quality control violations
Audit firm MaloneBailey agreed to pay a $400,000 fine to settle allegations levied by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board over “pervasive” quality control violations.
DOJ orders Evoqua to pay $8.5M over admitted securities fraud
Evoqua Water Technologies agreed to pay $8.5 million as part of a nonprosecution agreement with the Department of Justice to settle admitted criminal charges related to fraudulent revenue recognition.
SEC chief accountant calls out audit leadership culture
Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission have observed instances of audit firms setting poor examples for junior-level employees by failing to properly discipline senior leaders found to have breached ethical standards, according to Chief Accountant Paul Munter.
Crowe U.K. dinged $181K by FRC for Aseana Properties audit failures
Crowe U.K. was assessed a penalty of £144,000 (U.S. $181,000) by the U.K. Financial Reporting Council for failures in its audit of Aseana Properties Limited’s financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2019.
PCAOB reestablishes its fundamentals with new standards
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board adopted two new standards that address key audit areas upon which it was relying on benchmarks established more than 20 years ago.
FAT Brands on defense over DOJ, SEC accounting misconduct allegations
Restaurant operator FAT Brands said it would contest charges announced by the Department of Justice regarding violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act related to personal loans made to executive officers.
FRC fines PwC, EY for London Capital & Finance audit failings
Big Four firms PwC and EY were each penalized by the Financial Reporting Council for alleged shortcomings during their respective audits at collapsed investment firm London Capital & Finance.
‘Sham audit mill’: SEC fines, permanently suspends BF Borgers
BF Borgers was all but shuttered by the Securities and Exchange Commission after the agency accused the firm of massive fraud impacting more than 1,500 SEC filings audited over a 2 1/2-year span.
PCAOB removes redactions on 2022 KPMG inspection
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board published the full results of its 2022 inspection for Big Four firm KPMG after its initial report contained more than two dozen redactions.
Accountancy bodies urge ethical behavior amid exam cheating scandals
Trust in the integrity of corporate finance and auditing is vital, but repeated scandals over exam cheating at the largest multinational firms are denting faith in the system globally.
ADM CFO to depart amid accounting probes
Food processing company ADM announced Chief Financial Officer Vikram Luthar, who was placed on administrative leave in January amid a probe into the company’s accounting practices, will resign.
Report: Poor awareness of supply chain disclosure regs leaving firms exposed
Compliance failures in the supply chain are hampering organizations’ efforts to implement environmental, social, and governance initiatives and meet disclosure requirements, according to a new report by U.K. law firm Burges Salmon.
CPE Webcast: Mitigating risk: Strengthening control and compliance
Today’s compliance professionals face increasing pressures from talent shortages, a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, and rising transaction volumes—increasing both complexity and risk.
KPMG Netherlands fined record $25M by PCAOB for exam cheating
KPMG Netherlands agreed to pay a record $25 million penalty levied by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for allegedly allowing widespread cheating by employees on internal training exams and misinforming regulators about the misconduct.
Grant Thornton UK dinged $51K for pension fund audit lapses
Grant Thornton UK was assessed a penalty of £40,000 (U.S. $51,000) by the Financial Reporting Council for alleged procedure failures affecting the firm’s audit of a local authority’s pension fund.
Legal pushback prompts SEC to stay climate-related disclosure rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission delayed implementation of its climate-related disclosure rule until the courts can rule on appeals filed in response to the controversial policy.
Ebix: SEC probe into short seller claims closed
Ebix announced the Securities and Exchange Commission closed an investigation into allegations against the software company’s accounting practices raised in a short seller report.