Statement from PwC Canada

Statement regarding public settlement orders from PCAOB and CPAB

At PwC Canada we are committed to serving our stakeholders to the best of our ability and in accordance with our values and purpose - to build trust in society and solve important problems. When we do not meet the standards we set for ourselves, we acknowledge it and take action to do better.

To help ensure we have the best people delivering the highest quality work to our clients, we invest in their professional development and rigorous training that exceeds the requirements of our profession. 

In early 2020, it came to our attention that some of our people, primarily junior-level Assurance employees, shared online documents containing answers to some internal assessments as part of this additional training. Taking this seriously, PwC Canada immediately opened an extensive investigation with the assistance of external resources and voluntarily disclosed this matter to the regulators. 

We have since undertaken several remediation steps including retraining, additional ethics training, financial penalties, written warnings and terminations where warranted. 

PwC Canada and each of CPAB and PCAOB have reached settlements with respect to this matter. CPAB has released a public order which imposes sanctions on the firm including costs in the amount of $200,000. PCAOB has also released a public order which imposes sanctions on the firm including a financial penalty in the amount of US$750,000. Both CPAB and PCAOB credit PwC Canada for extraordinary cooperation. 

While we are confident there has been no impact or compromise to the quality of our audits as evidenced by our current inspection results, we expect more from everybody in our firm. All of us must consistently live our values and purpose for PwC Canada to be recognized as having the best people in professional services delivering the highest quality work.

We value the trust that our clients and community put in us, and we remain committed to ensuring that we continue to earn this trust every single day.

Nicolas Marcoux 
Chief Executive Officer 
PwC Canada