收费超限，安永某地被罚！

当地时间2024年8月7日，英国财务报告委员会（FRC）发布公告宣布： 安永英国公司被罚款29.5万英镑(约合278万人民币)，原因是该事务所为一家名为Evraz的俄罗斯钢铁公司开具的非审计账单金额超出了允许范围。

罚款最初超过32.1万英镑，但公司承认违反规定/或协助财务报告局的调查，财务报告局会给公司折扣。安永是在2021年8月发现这一问题后，于10月4日向FRC报告的。

FRC 公布了安永的违规详情:

反映了英国法律要求的道德标准于2019年修订，此标准对会计师事务所可以向公共利益实体提供的非审计服务的收费金额进行了限制。 非审计业务的收费上限为连续三年支付给审计事务所的平均费用的70%。 该上限适用于网络层面(即全球安永网络的成员)和事务所层面(安永英国)。 安永英国在网络层面测试了费用比率，但没有在事务所层面测试，因此接受并执行了违反70%费用上限的非审计工作。这种违反并非故意或不诚实。

自2011年Evraz在英国证券交易所上市以来，安永一直是其审计师，直到2022年底英国政府因俄罗斯入侵乌克兰而对其实施制裁为止。

2021年初，安永接受Evraz的委托，就Evraz集团与煤炭相关权益的拟议处置开展非审计工作。这些权益主要通过一家俄罗斯公司PJSC Raspadskaya持有。根据提议，该公司将从Evraz集团分离出去。拟议的处置被称为 "双子座项目"。

在安永英国开展 该项目 之前的连续三个财政年度， 安永英国为Evraz提供的审计服务平均收费400,462美元。这个金额的70%是280,323美元。 安永英国在 Evraz集团 的非审计服务的总费用达到了53.5万美元，因此大大超过了28万美元。

安永公司因其违规行为受到以下经济和非经济处罚：

经济制裁包括： i） 没收超出收费上限的收费利润 121,305英镑（约合人民币1,141,511元）；ii）额外的200,000英镑。由于承认和提前和解，额外部分已折算为130,000英镑（约合人民币1,223,333元），因此经济制裁总额为251,305英镑（约合人民币2,364,845元）。

非金融制裁措施如下:

谴责:以谴责形式发表声明

编写一份根本原因分析报告，并提交给 FRC ，说明违规原因和此后采取的行动，包括针对英国财务报告委员会《2023 年审计质量检查和监督报告》中指出的安永处理非审计服务审批和评估的更广泛问题所采取的行动。

必要时实施财务报告委员会建议的任何进一步补救措施。

原英文报道如下：

This Press Notice concerns the outcome of an investigation into the relevant Statutory Audit Firm (as defined in the FRC’s Audit Enforcement Procedure). It would not be fair to treat any part of this announcement as constituting or evidencing an investigation into, or findings in respect of the conduct of, any other persons or entities.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a Final Settlement Decision Notice to Ernst & Young LLP (EY UK) under the Audit Enforcement Procedure and imposed sanctions in respect of a breach of the FRC’s Revised Ethical Standard 2019, namely exceeding the 70% fee-cap on non-audit services. The breach relates to the Statutory Audit of the Financial Statements of Evraz plc for the year ended 31 December 2021.

The sanctions are:

A financial sanction comprising: i) £121,305 in respect of disgorgement* of profits earned on fees in excess of the fee-cap; and ii) an additional £200,000 component. The additional component has been discounted for admissions and early settlement to £130,000, such that the total financial sanction is £251,305.

Non-financial sanctions as follows:

A published statement in the form of a reprimand.

A root-cause analysis report to be prepared and presented to the FRC identifying the reasons for the breach and actions taken since, including in response to the wider issue around EY’s handling of the approval and assessment of non-audit services, identified in the FRC’s 2023 Audit Quality Inspection and Supervision Report.

Any further remedial action proposed by the FRC to be implemented as necessary.

EY UK has also paid the costs of Executive Counsel’s investigation.

Evraz is a multi-national mining group, headquartered in Moscow but incorporated in London and listed as a FTSE 100 company. Its shares have been suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange since March 2022. EY UK audited Evraz since it was listed in the UK in 2011 until its resignation as auditor in November 2022 following the imposing of new UK Government sanctions against the Russian Federation in response to the invasion of Ukraine. There is no suggestion that EY has in any way failed to comply with its obligations under applicable sanctions laws.

The Revised Ethical Standard 2019, which reflects the requirements of UK law, imposes restrictions on the amount of non-audit services that an audit firm may provide to a Public Interest Entity. The cap on non-audit work is 70% of the average of the fees paid to the audit firm over the previous three consecutive years. The cap applies at both Network level (i.e. members of the global EY network) and at Firm level (EY UK). EY UK tested the fee ratio at Network level but not at Firm level, and so accepted and carried out non-audit work in breach of the 70% fee cap. This breach was not intentional or dishonest.