ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against BDO Audit (WA) Pty Ltd (BDO Audit) and its director Mr Dean Just alleging it made statements in audit reports which made them materially false or misleading, and that it failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the audit reports were not materially false or misleading.
BDO Audit was the audit company for ASX-listed tech company Dubber Corporation Limited (Dubber), the holding company of a group of companies (Dubber Group) including Dubber Pty Ltd. Mr Just was the lead auditor at the time of the alleged contraventions.
ASIC alleges BDO Audit and Mr Just failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the audit reports lodged with ASIC for the financial years ending 30 June 2020 to 30 June 2022 were not materially false or misleading because of statements made in each of the reports that:
- In BDO's opinion, the financial report gave a true and fair view of Dubber Group's financial position
- BDO had conducted the audit in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards, and
- BDO believed the audit evidence obtained was sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for that opinion.
This in circumstances where ASIC alleges, amongst other matters, that Dubber's financial reports for each of the relevant financial years were materially misstated and the audits had not been conducted in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, 'We consider BDO Audit and Mr Just acted outside of the auditing standards, and we allege misleading reports were submitted to ASIC.
'Auditor misconduct continues to be a key enforcement priority for ASIC.
'Confidence and trust are fundamental to the role of company auditors, and critical to maintaining the integrity of our markets and enabling investors to make informed decisions,' the Deputy Chair said.
