The accounting industry has faced criticism over its allegedly negligent audits on some corporate clients. Its responsibility has come under the spotlight in line with the recent woes in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors.
A notable example is Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s financial statements, which were audited by Deloitte Anjin, a local member of British firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.
Deloitte Anjin earlier issued an auditor opinion of “optimum” about DSME’s financial statements, which could indicate that the client’s bookkeeping had few improprieties.
But financial regulators revealed that the company is suspected of engaging in irregular accounting of about 2.4 trillion won ($2 billion). Anjin belatedly asked DSME to correct the statements, de facto admitting that the 2013 and 2014 statements should have reflected its loss of 2 trillion won out of its collective loss estimate of 5.5 trillion won.
This shows that the accounting firm had failed to detect the client’s misstatements during its auditing or allegedly winked at a possible malfeasance.
It is up to the financial authority or prosecution to look into whether the auditor was complicit in the irregular accounting. Certainly, it could be a simple misstatement with no improper intention.
However, even if it was a simple mistake, it is hard to excuse Deloitte Anjin, the nation’s second-largest accounting firm.
Another case is the shady relations between Hanjin Shipping and its auditor Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers. Investigators are probing whether the accounting firm had notified the then-chief of Hanjin Shipping of crucial information on financial statements.
The client’s former chief is suspected of conducting illegal insider trading.
After an accounting scandal involving SK Group in the early 2000s, a core task of the regulators has been to closely monitor cozy relations between auditors and corporate customers to prevent any irregular practices that would undermine investors.
For the past decade, the Financial Supervisory Service has contributed to elevating the credibility of the local accounting industry, which in turn has been active in self-purification efforts following guidelines set by the regulator. As a result, it is acknowledgeable that the number of fabricated bookkeeping cases has dropped notably.
Nonetheless, it is unavoidable that any wrongdoing or lax audits by a small group of accountants harms the entire credibility of accounting firms, as the market expects a higher code of conduct for industry employees.
Anjin Deloitte has said it would select a growing number of newcomers this year compared to previous years in consideration of the increased market demand.
The firm needs to thoroughly screen the personalities of its applicants, apart from their educational background or careers. After hiring the newcomers, they should undergo thorough internal education before dispatching them to clients’ offices.
As the auditors easily access low-key corporation information, they should have high ethical standards.
