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The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has fined Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP of Rs 2 crore for alleged lapses in auditing Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years. Furthermore, NFRA has imposed penalties on two chartered accountants (CA) -AB Jani and Rakesh Sharma - and barred them from work. While AB Jani has been fined Rs. 10 lakh and debarment for any audit work for 5 years, Sharma has been fined Rs. 5 lakh and 3 years of service.
AB Jani was the Engagement Partner (EP), and Rakesh Sharma was the Engagement Quality Control Review (EQCR) Partner for the company audit for 2018-19 and 2019- 20.
However, this is not the first time Deloitte has come under scrutiny over lapses in audit. Here's a list of past cases on Deloitte:
Deloitte Indonesia and Philippines Fined $2 Million In Exam Cheating Case
Earlier in April, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) fined Deloitte Indonesia and Deloitte Philippines $1 million each in an exam cheating case.
As per PCAOB's orders, from 2017 to 2019, Deloitte Philippines's audit partners and other personnel engaged in widespread answer sharing. Wilfredo Baltazar, a former partner at Deloitte Philippines directly and substantially contributed to the firm's violations.
From 2021 to 2023, more than 200 Deloitte Indonesia professionals engaged in answer sharing.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Deloitte Indonesia, Deloitte Philippines, and Baltazar consented to the PCAOB's respective orders against them. All were censured. While Deloitte Indonesia and Deloitte Philippines each agreed to pay a $1 million civil money penalty, Baltazar agreed to pay a $10,000 fine.
$31 Million Fine And A Suspension Notice In China
In March 2023, China fined Deloitte 211.9 million yuan ($30.8 million) for failing to perform its duty in assessing the asset quality of China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd. The government also suspended Deloitte's Beijing operations for three months.
"We regret that, in this matter, the MOF considers certain aspects of our work fell below the required auditing standards," said Deloitte according to a statement published on its website and accepted the finance ministry's decision.
$1.14 Million Fine Over SIG Audit Failures
Two years ago, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) fined Deloitte over £900,000 ($1.14 million) over failures in its audit of the building materials firm SIG.
FRC also handed a fine of £36,250 to Simon Manning, who was the audit engagement partner working on the account.
According to a Guardian report, Deloitte's initial fine was £1.25m but the sum was discounted after the "big four" accountancy firm admitted the breaches. Manning's fine was also reduced from £50,000 to £36,250.
£15m Fine For Failings In Autonomy Audits
In September 2020, Deloitte was fined a record £15m and reprimanded for failings in its audits of the software company Autonomy between January 2009 and June 2011.
Two former Deloitte partners, Richard Knights and Nigel Mercer, who were involved in the audits, were also fined and sanctioned by the accounting watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
The FRC said that Deloitte and Richard Knights failed to "act with integrity and objectivity".