The KPMG cheating scandal has come back to bite the Big Four audit firm yet again in the form of a $1.3 million penalty handed down by the state of California and its Board of Accountancy (CBA) on Monday.
The fine, agreed to in a stipulated settlement, arose from KPMG’s admissions to allegations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a $50 million settlement reached in June 2019. The SEC had charged KPMG with altering audit information after illegally obtaining inspection results from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), in addition to finding KPMG audit professionals had been cheating and sharing answers on internal training exams.
