Background
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko – cancelled the New Zealand licence of Sydney based auditor, Mr Sam Danieli, to carry out FMC audits in New Zealand.
The decisions stem from the audit of former FMC reporting entity Alliant Perpetual’s financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2022 (the audit). Mr Danieli conducted the audit.
Alliant Perpetual lodged its financial statements in December 2022 along with Mr Danieli’s auditor’s report. Following a review of Alliant Perpetual’s financial statements and auditor’s report for the year ended 31 January 2022, the FMA opened an investigation into Mr Danieli’s conduct of the audit. The investigation found that Mr Danieli did not:
- Obtain sufficient evidence to support the existence and valuation of Alliant Perpetual’s investments
- Perform a thorough evaluation of management’s assessment of the Alliant Perpetual as a going concern
- Perform the audit with professional scepticism particularly when assessing the valuation of the investments
- Take responsibility for the overall quality of the audit by completing the audit before the Engagement Quality Control Reviewer had performed an objective evaluation of the significant judgements made by the engagement team
- Obtain external confirmation when assessing Alliant Perpetual’s Cash at Bank
- Obtain reasonable assurance Alliant Perpetual’s financial statements were free from material misstatements.
December 2024
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko – has cancelled the New Zealand licence of Sydney based auditor, Mr Sam Danieli, to carry out FMC audits in New Zealand. Mr Danieli’s licence was issued by the FMA under the Auditor Regulation Act 2011 (the AR Act). New Zealand allows recognition of Australian based auditors under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (the TTMRA).
