backOn March 25, 2025, the PCAOB announced a settled disciplinary order sanctioning New York public accounting firm, James Pai CPA PLLC (“the Firm”) and Yu-Ching James Pai, the Firm’s owner (“Pai”), for violating PCAOB rules and standards. Without admitting or denying the Board’s findings, Pai and the Firm consented to the Order which (1) censured them, (2) revoked the Firm’s registration for a period of at least three years, (3) barred Pai from being an associated person of a registered public accounting firm for a period of at least three years, (4) imposed a fine of $40,000, (5) required the Firm to undertake remedial actions concerning its quality control system prior to reapplying for registration, and (6) required Pai to complete 40 hours of continuing professional education before filing a petition to become an associated person with a registered public accounting firm.
The Board imposed the sanctions on the basis of its findings that Pai and the Firm violated PCAOB rules and standards in connection with two audits for an issuer client. The violations included their failure to perform engagement quality reviews; failure to obtain written representations from management; failure to comply with requirements concerning critical audit matters, audit committee communications, and audit documentation; failure to implement an adequate system of quality control; and failure to file accurate Form APs.
The settled order is available here.