PCAOB rejects engagement partner’s attempt to limit audit role to planning and supervision
The PCAOB just made public its December 29, 2017 adjudicated disciplinary order imposing a two-year limitation on activities and censure on Melissa K. Koeppel, a Grant Thornton LLP partner who served as the engagement partner for the 2006, 2007, and 2008 audits of Koss Corporation. Koss’s former VP-Finance embezzled millions through unauthroized wire transfers and cashier’s checks to pay for personal expenses. It is significant to note that the Board reversed the initial decision of the hearing officer dismissing the charges on the basis that the Division of Enforcement and Investigations had not “established a legally cognizable basis” for imposing sanctions on Koeppel because it had not charged Koeppel for failing to plan, delegate, or supervise the audit work under the applicable auditing standard at the time, AU Section 311. The Board found that Koeppel violated PCAOB rules and auditing standards by failing to exercise due professional care, including professional skepticism, and failing to obtain sufficient audit evidence, among other violations.
