A former national office leader at New York-based IPA 100 firm Marcum (FY22 net revenue of $1.2 billion) has been charged by the SEC for a number of quality control failures.
In its release, the SEC said Alfonse Gregory Giugliano failed to sufficiently address and remediate deficiencies in the firm’s quality control system, despite being aware of such lapses in his role as a national assurance services leader. As part of the resolution, Giugliano agreed to having no leadership or supervisory role at any registered public accounting firm for a period of three years and a civil penalty of $75,000, among other things.
“PCAOB audit and quality control standards are the foundation of the auditor gatekeeping function,” said Carolyn Welshhans, associate director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This action highlights that those with responsibilities for audit firms’ quality control systems, including national partners, must fulfill these critical obligations.”
In June, Marcum agreed to pay $13 million in fines in response to SEC and PCAOB charges that the firm failed to impose stringent quality controls and violated auditing standards in connection with hundreds of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and other clients.
