The Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana has told Citi Business News that it will use the GH¢2.2 million fine to build capacity for the four sanctioned auditing firms and the industry as a whole.
The ICAG fined Deloitte & Touche, PKF Chartered Accountants, J. Mills Lamptey & Co., Morrison & Associate up to the tune of GH¢2.2 million for not adhering to some standard requirements.
The amount will be paid to the ICAG.
The institute in justifying the sanction in an interview with Citi Business News explained that the affected companies are very competent and that the said infractions are minor and did not contribute to the collapse of the banks.
” We are in discussions with them on the mode of payment. The money will be used to defray the cost we incurred in conducting the investigation. The other part will be used to build capacity not just for the four firms but the industry as a whole on key issues such as standards, integrity and professionalism,”Director of Member Services at the ICAG, Augustine Addo told Citi Business New.
He disclosed that discussions with the affected firms are ongoing to formalize the payment plan.
Some of the infractions detected by the institute after its investigations into the work of the auditing firms in connection with the collapsed of the banks include non-confirmation of balances and the failure of the companies to carry out some impairment provisions.
These infractions the institute said are not ethics-related and therefore does not warrant the revocation of licenses.
“But I want to say that these companies very good and competent firms. They have worked with various companies within Ghana for more than 20 years and there were no issues. We have not revoked their licenses, what we did was a corrective measure.”
Meanwhile, the Institute says it will intensify the training of ethics, standards, and integrity right from the Senior High School level across the country to avoid some of these infractions from recurring.