Annual Report 2016

Appendix | FAOA 2016
53
Court rulings 2016
Status: 31 December 2016
The following is a complete list of
the 2016 rulings of the federal courts
relating to the FAOA. The rulings
appear in chronological order, with
a short note on the subject matter
dealt with and on the conclusion of
the court.
− FAC Ruling No. B-2626 /2015 of
19 January 2016: Notification of
the opening of proceedings against
a licence holder. Rejection of appeal
as far as dealt with. A notification
does not qualify as an ruling.
Not yet legally binding.
− FAC Ruling No. 2C_860/2015 of
14 March 2016: Insufficient audit
procedures in the audit of the
financial statements of a pension
scheme (lack of attention to legal,
regulatory and professional law requirements,
lack of an audit plan
and insufficient professional scepticism).
Licence withdrawal for five
years. Confirmation of FAC Ruling
No. B-1577/2015 of 17 August
2015. Rejection of appeal.
− FAC Ruling No. B-7872/2015 of
21 April 2016: Breach of independence
in the audit of a company
formation report. Engagement
not complete at the time the auditor-in-charge
accepted a place
on the board of directors and subscribed
for five percent of the share
capital. Licence withdrawal for two
years. Rejection of appeal.
− FAC Ruling No. B-6791/2015 of
27 April 2016: Breach of independence.
Audit of the financial
statements of two companies belonging
to the same group as the
auditor. Quality assurance through
a member of management of a further
group company. Audit services
provided free. Licence withdrawal
for three years. Rejection of appeal.
− FAC Ruling No. B-5317/2014 of
14 July 2016: Breach of independence.
Licence holder was a member
of the board of directors of the auditor
and eight audited companies
simultaneously over many years.
Licence withdrawal for two years.
Rejection of appeal.
− FAC Ruling No. B-5434 /2014 of
14 July 2016: Breach of independence.
Audit of seven companies
(signature of 40 audit reports) over
many years, during which a member
of the board of directors of the
auditor was simultaneously on the
board of the audited companies.
Licence withdrawal for two years.
Rejection of appeal.
− FSC Ruling No. 2C_1026 /2015 of
18 July 2016: Breach of independence.
Close business relationship
between the auditor-in-charge and
a board member of two audited
companies. Confirmation of FAC
Ruling No. B-4868/2014 of 8 October
2015. Rejection of appeal.
− FSC Ruling No. 2C_29 / 2016 of
3 November 2016: Licence to perform
audits under CISA and AMLA
withdrawn by FINMA due to failure
of audit firm to exercise due care
and resultant lack of confidence in
the audit. Proceedings transferred
to FAOA as part of the bundling of
oversight authority under the FAOA
on 1 January 2015. Confirmation
of FAC Ruling No. B-3224 / 2013 of
23 November 2015. Rejection
of appeal.
− FSC Ruling No. 2C_121/ 2016 of
14 November 2016: Breach of
independence. Close business
relationship between the auditor-in-charge
and a board member
of the audited company, who
simultaneously sat on the board
of directors of the auditor. Licence
withdrawal for two years.
Confirmation of FAC Ruling No.
B-2632/2014 of 15 December
2015. Dismissal of appeal.
− FSC Ruling No. 2C_528 /2016 of
15 November 2016: Breach of independence.
Audit of the financial
statements of two companies belonging
to the same group as the
auditor. Quality assurance through
a member of management of a further
group company. Audit services
provided free. Licence withdrawal
for three years. Confirmation of
FAC Ruling No. B-6791/2015 of 27
April 2016. Rejection of appeal.
− FSC Ruling No. 2C_487/2016 of
23 November 2016: Breach of independence
in the audit of a company
formation report. Engagement
not complete at the time the
auditor-in-charge accepted a place
on the board of directors and
subscribed for five percent of the
share capital. The FSC overruled
FAC Ruling No. B-7872/ 2015 of
21 April 2016 and issued a reprimand
instead of a two-year licence
withdrawal.