The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has barred two former senior partners of DRT Bagimsiz Denetim ve Serbest Muhasebeci Mali Musavirlik (Deloitte Turkey) from associating with a PCAOB registered accounting firm.
Hüseyin Gürer and Gökhan Alpman, who were both CEOs of Deloitte Turkey, were found by the PCAOB to have been aware of an effort by the firm to improperly alter documents in advance of a PCAOB inspection in 2014 and took no action to stop it.
Following the attempted alterations of documents, Deloitte Turkey and the PCAOB reached a $750,000 settlement in December 2017 and imposed sanctions against two other members of its former staff.
The Board also barred a third senior partner, the former risk and reputation leader Ömer Tanriöver for failing to cooperate with PCAOB investigators when requested to provide information on the matter.
In addition to the bar, Gürer was fined $25,000. Gürer and Alpman may apply to have their bars lifted after three and two years, respectively. Tanriöver's bar is permanent.
The PCAOB orders also censured Gürer, Alpman, and Tanriöver, who neither admitted nor denied the findings in their respective orders.
PCAOB chairman William D. Duhnke said: "Audit firms and their personnel have a fundamental duty to act with integrity. That integrity begins with their senior leaders and the tone they set for the audit practices they oversee. When firm leadership fails in its responsibilities, the Board will take appropriate action to hold that leadership accountable.”
