THE Securities Commission Malaysia’s Audit Oversight Board (AOB) has prohibited audit firm RSL PLT (RSL) and its partners from accepting clients and auditing public interest entities or schedule funds for a period of 12 months commencing Nov 1.
The two partners involved are Lim Lip Chin and Lim Sang Chee. In addition to the prohibition, the AOB also imposed fines of RM175,000 on RSL and RM44,000 on Lip Chin.
“The firm and its partners were sanctioned by the AOB for non-compliance with the auditing standards on fundamental and basic audit procedures while auditing a public listed company,” the SC’s AOB said in a statement.
“These findings affected key financial statements line items such as investment in associates, property development costs, trade and other receivables, revenue and costs from construction contracts and group consolidation.”
RSL and the partners subsequently appealed to the SC against the AOB’s decisions. After deliberation, the SC had dismissed the appeal and affirmed the AOB’s decisions.
On a related development, the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) has reprimanded two individuals for misconduct/breach of FIMM’s Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct (Unit Trust Funds), Second Edition dated 22 January 2013.
Chooi Pak Hoong, a former unit trust scheme (UTS) consultant of Public Bank Bhd was found to be in breach of Clauses 3.3.1 and 3.1.3(a) of the FIMM’s Code for marketing and distributing unit trust funds of Public Mutual Bhd while registered as a UTS consultant of Public Bank at the material time.
The unit trust funds of Public Mutual marketed and distributed by Chooi are not distributed by his principal which is Public Bank.
Goh Bee Kiat, a UTS consultant of Public Mutual was found to be in breach of Clause 3.1.3(a) of FIMM’s Code for committing the following misconducts:
· Accepted the sales of unit trust funds of Public Mutual that was marketed and distributed by Chooi to customers of Public Bank; and
· Failed to personally meet the customers to whom Chooi have marketed and distributed unit trust funds of Public Mutual to explain the features of the UTS products invested by those customers and to carry out the necessary due diligence process.
