PCAOB Sanctions Former BF Borgers Audit Director Bo-Shiang (“Eric”) Lien
On May 24, 2022, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced that it has sanctioned Bo-Shiang (“Eric”) Lien, a former audit director and non-equity partner at BF Borgers CPA PC, for violations of PCAOB rules and standards in connection with the audits by BF Borgers of the financial statements of three public companies between 2017 and 2019.
Lien is a certified public accountant licensed by the state of Colorado (license no. 0030719). At all relevant times, Lien was an audit manager or director (non-equity partner) of BF Borgers and served as an engagement partner on issuer audits.
Since 2017, BF Borgers has been involved in providing audits for dozens (if not hundreds) of public companies.
The PCAOB found that Lien violated PCAOB rules and standards while serving as the engagement partner on BF Borgers’ audits of the 2019 financial statements of Chineseinvestors.com, Inc., the 2018 financial statements of United Cannabis Corporation, and the 2015 and 2016 financial statements of China Pharma Holdings, Inc.
The PCAOB found that Lien failed to comply with PCAOB rules and standards in multiple instances, and those failures occurred in significant risk or high-risk areas, including revenue and the valuation of intangible assets.
The PCAOB determined that Lien violated PCAOB rules and standards requiring auditors, among other things, to exercise due professional care and professional skepticism, to design and implement audit procedures that address the assessed risks of material misstatement, and to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence supporting the audit opinion.
The PCAOB concluded that Lein “posed a risk to investors, who need high-quality financial statements to inform their decision-making” and barred Lien from being associated with a registered public accounting firm, with the right to file a petition for Board consent to associate with a registered firm after two years. The Board also imposed a $25,000 civil money penalty on Lien and required that Lien complete an additional 50 hours of continuing professional education in subjects that are directly related to the audits of financial statements under PCAOB standards.
After two years from the date of the Order, Bo-Shiang (“Eric”) Lien may file a petition, pursuant to PCAOB Rule 5302(b), for Board consent to associate with a registered public accounting firm.
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