PwC Israel has been sanctioned and fined by the US regulator over widespread cheating in internal audit exams.
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has fined the firm $2.75m after it was found hundreds of individuals were engaged in training exam misconduct. The PCAOB said from 2017 to 2022 the firm failed to detect or prevent extensive, improper sharing of tests for mandatory internal training courses.
PCAOB chair, Erica Y. Williams, said: “The PCAOB will not tolerate cheating or other unethical behaviour at PCAOB-registered audit firms, regardless of whether the firm is located in the United States or abroad.
“We will hold firms accountable when they put investors at risk by failing to comply with the PCAOB’s quality control standards.”
Since 2021, the PCAOB has sanctioned 10 registered firms for quality control deficiencies related to the inappropriate sharing of answers on internal training exams.
Without admitting or denying the findings in the order concerning the improper answer sharing, PwC Israel agreed to pay a $2.75 million civil money penalty. The firm was censured by the PCAOB, and it is required (1) to review and improve its quality control policies and procedures to provide reasonable assurance that its personnel act with integrity in connection with internal training and (2) to report to the PCAOB that it has done so within 150 days.
