SEC Charges FTX Auditor Prager Metis Over Independence Violations

blockchain.news:

On September 29, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced legal charges against the international accounting firm Prager Metis CPAs, LLC and its Californian counterpart, Prager Metis CPAs LLP (jointly referred to as Prager), for alleged violations of auditor independence rules and for supposedly aiding and abetting their clients in breaching federal securities laws. The complaints pointed to improper conduct over approximately three years, from December 2017 to October 2020, during which Prager was alleged to have included indemnification clauses in engagement letters for more than 200 audit-related assignments, thereby compromising its independence as required by federal securities laws.

Prager’s alleged misconduct involved repeatedly signing engagement letters with indemnification clauses and issuing «accountant’s reports» purporting independence, despite senior partners being notified that such actions jeopardized the firm’s independence. The SEC complaint suggests that many of Prager's clients incorporated these “accountant’s reports” in their SEC filings, and accuses Prager of not advising its clients about these violations even after being informed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) that such actions were in violation of federal laws concerning auditor independence.

The SEC’s action against Prager gains additional significance considering the firm’s prior engagement with cryptocurrency exchange FTX before the latter filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022. Prager Metis provided audit and tax preparation services to FTX, a notable engagement revealed in earlier court documents. Although the SEC's complaint did not specifically name FTX, it highlighted “hundreds”