ASIC imposes conditions on Sydney company auditor
The corporate regulator has imposed conditions on a Sydney company auditor for not adequately carrying out duties.
ASIC announced it has imposed conditions on the registration of company auditor Allan Facey of MNSA Pty Ltd following a review.
Facey’s audit of an ASX-listed company’s financial report for the year ended 30 June 2023 was reviewed by ASIC, which induced concern Facey had not “adequately and properly carried out his duties as an auditor in compliance with Australian Auditing Standards”.
ASIC added that its predominant concern was that Facey failed to gather and document sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support his audit opinion.
The inquiry into Facey and his audit followed information received by ASIC from New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA), which issued a public warning on 21 January 2025 about Facey’s conduct in New Zealand.
ASIC noted that the registered company auditors of Australia and New Zealand were mutually recognised to audit in both countries through the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997, and both regulators were parties to a memorandum of understanding to cooperate and exchange information related to their regulatory and supervisory functions.
In response to ASIC’s concerns, Facey proposed conditions be imposed on his company auditor registration that ASIC accepted would address the conduct.
The conditions included that Facey would:
- Complete by 31 July 2025 an additional eight hours of continuing professional education about obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence and the preparation and assembly of audit documentation.
- Engage an independent registered company auditor to review and report to ASIC on a root cause analysis and remedial actions implemented as a result of ASIC’s audit file review, and three financial report audits by Facey of public interest entities for the year ended 30 June 2025.
“Company auditors are trusted gatekeepers who are crucial to providing confidence in the quality of financial reports. ASIC will consider audit quality concerns and take regulatory action when auditors fall short of the required standards,” ASIC said.
“ASIC may impose, on application by a registered company auditor, conditions specified in the regulations. If Mr Facey fails to comply with the conditions, ASIC may apply to the Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board to cancel or suspend his company auditor registration.”
About the author
