The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Tuesday barred a former audit director and nonequity partner at BF Borgers for violations of PCAOB rules and standards as part of four audits across three public companies.
Bo-Shiang Lien is restricted from being associated with a registered public accounting firm for at least two years in addition to being required to pay a $25,000 civil penalty and complete an additional 50 hours of continuing professional education. BF Borgers was not disciplined as part of the enforcement action.
Lien’s alleged violations occurred while he served as engagement partner on audits of the fiscal year 2019 financial statements of Chineseinvestors.com, the FY2018 financial statements of United Cannabis Corporation, and the FY2015 and FY2016 financial statements of China Pharma Holdings. The lapses occurred in high-risk areas including revenue and the valuation of intangible assets, according to the PCAOB.
Lien neither admitted nor denied the regulator’s findings in reaching settlement.
The details: Chineseinvestors.com is an Indiana corporation that provides Chinese-language financial information and sells hemp-infused cosmetics and liquor in China. During his audit of the company, Lien failed to evaluate whether its revenue around significant gains in liquor sales was recognized in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), according to the PCAOB, and did not obtain sufficient evidence to support the sales revenue gains, whether the sales even occurred, or whether the revenue was recorded at proper value.
At United Cannabis, a Colorado-based therapeutics developer, Lien allegedly assessed the company’s valuation of goodwill following a July 2017 acquisition as “high risk” but failed to gather sufficient audit evidence to evaluate the designation. He also failed in assessing the work of a third-party specialist United Cannabis used to support its reported goodwill balance, the PCAOB stated.
At China Pharma, a Nevada-based manufacturer and marketer of pharmaceutical and biochemical products to hospitals and private retailers in China, Lien failed to obtain sufficient evidence for intangible assets during both the 2015 and 2016 audits and relied on the company’s inconsistent reasoning regarding impairments recognized in violation of PCAOB standards, the organization said. For both audits, Lien identified fraud risks related to improper revenue recognition but failed in his subsequent assessment, the PCAOB added.
“The investing public relies on PCAOB-registered firms and their personnel to perform their audit responsibilities in accordance with PCAOB regulations and to protect the integrity of the capital markets,” said PCAOB Chair Erica Williams in a press release. “By repeatedly failing to comply with fundamental PCAOB auditing standards, Lien posed a risk to investors, who need high-quality financial statements to inform their decision-making.”
BF Borgers did not respond to a request for comment/details on Lien’s departure from the firm.
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