ASIC accepts cancellation of company auditor registration for independence failures

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ASIC has accepted Mr Allan William Donald’s application for the cancellation of his registration as a company auditor following ASIC raising concerns that he did not comply with the independence requirements of auditors under the Corporations Act 2001 and the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including Independence Standards).

Arising from Mr Donald’s appointment as auditor for two related large proprietary companies between 1992 and 2022, ASIC developed concerns that Mr Donald did not comply with his independence requirements by:

engaging in audit activities while being company secretary of the audited bodies, which constituted a prohibited relationship

providing prohibited non-assurance services to the audited body, and

maintaining a long association with the audit clients without adequate independence threat assessments and safeguards in place.

ASIC identified these issues through a proactive surveillance focused on auditors' compliance with independence and conflict of interest requirements (see 24-240MR ). ASIC will soon publish its findings from this review and expects to announce further action as a result of issues identified through this surveillance.

Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said, ‘This outcome is part of our broader surveillance of auditor independence and our commitment to improving the integrity and quality of auditing in Australia.’

Mr Donald submitted to ASIC that his independence breaches were inadvertent. Mr Donald cooperated with ASIC’s inquiries.