TechFlow news: International accounting firm Prager Metis has agreed to pay $745,000 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations regarding improper audits of FTX prior to its collapse in November 2022.
The settlement, announced by the SEC on Tuesday, also includes a second finding that the firm violated audit independence rules during audits of more than 200 companies between 2017 and 2020. Prager Metis agreed to pay $1.2 million in civil penalties and pre-judgment interest to resolve these charges.
The SEC accused Prager Metis of falsely stating in two audit reports issued for FTX in 2021 and 2022 that the audits were conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), when in fact the firm "failed to comply with GAAS in multiple aspects of the audits."
