This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 30, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) Audit Oversight Board (AOB) has reprimanded three auditors — Gary Yong Yoon Shing, Jason Sia Sze Wan and Lye Ghee Kang — for failing to comply with the International Standards on Auditing when auditing their respective public-listed clients.

In a statement yesterday, the SC said Yong and Sia are partners of Nexia SSY, while Lye is a partner of CAS Malaysia PLT.

“The auditors failed to design and perform audit procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support the audit opinion for their clients.

“In respect of Gary Yong Yoon Shing and Jason Sia Sze Wan, the offence was for two audit clients for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2012, and in respect of Lye Ghee Kang it was for an audit client for the financial year ended April 30, 2017,” it said.

The regulator said compliance with auditing standards when auditing the financial statements of a public interest entity is a condition of registration for AOB registrants.

“Failure to comply with AOB’s conditions of registration will result in breach of section 31Z of the Securities Commission Malaysia Act.”