Canadian Public Accountability Board continues Manning Elliott LLP ban on taking new high-risk reporting issuer audit clients and ends two monitoring requirements

The Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) published an enforcement report on Manning Elliott LLP following its 2024 inspection, continuing the firm’s existing restriction on accepting new high-risk reporting issuer audit clients while terminating two previously imposed quality monitoring requirements. CPAB inspected two reporting issuer audit files in 2024 and identified one significant inspection finding. The continued restriction prohibits Manning Elliott from accepting new high-risk reporting issuer clients, including those arising from initial public offerings, reverse takeovers, or other transactions. Enhanced oversight remains in place through quarterly meetings, and the firm must continue to pay a monetary assessment to recover CPAB’s costs of enhanced oversight and monitoring compliance with the restriction. CPAB terminated requirements for the firm to engage an external professional to perform internal quality monitoring of completed reporting issuer audit engagements and to continue its in-flight review program with selection criteria that included newly accepted medium-risk reporting issuer engagements. The remaining enforcement actions continue until CPAB is satisfied the firm has demonstrated sustained improvement in audit quality or they are otherwise terminated following an application under CPAB Rule 605.