Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Sanctions Five Firms For Rule Violations

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The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has announced settled disciplinary orders sanctioning five accounting firms.

The PCAOB also sanctioned one audit firm, Halpern ⁘ Associates, LLC, of Connecticut, for violating PCAOB reporting rules.

These four firms were sanctioned as part of an enforcement sweep, a practice that enables the PCAOB to collect information on potential violations from several firms at the same time. A PCAOB sweep led to previous sanctions of four firms in February 2024 , three firms in November 2023 , and five firms in July 2023 . Monetary penalties in those cases ranged from $25,000 to $90,000.

According to PCAOB documents, Halpern ⁘ Associates, LLC, failed to report the initiation of a disciplinary proceeding brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the firm and its namesake partner, Barbara Halpern. The firm was censured and given a $20,000 penalty.