PCAOB fines PwC Israel $2.8M for exam cheating

PwC Israel, also called Kesselman & Kesselman CPAs, today was sanctioned by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for widespread training exam misconduct.

From 2017 to 2022, hundreds of individuals at PwC Israel cheated — by sharing questions or answers, or by receiving access — on online tests for mandatory internal training courses related to the firm’s U.S. auditing curriculum, professional independence and professional ethics.

“The PCAOB will not tolerate cheating or other unethical behavior at PCAOB-registered audit firms, regardless of whether the firm is located in the United States or abroad,” PCAOB chair Erica Williams said in a statement. “We will hold firms accountable when they put investors at risk by failing to comply with the PCAOB’s quality control standards.”

Since 2021, the PCAOB has sanctioned 10 registered firms for quality control deficiencies related to internal training exam misconduct. In April 2024, it levied a $25 million fine against KPMG’s firm in the Netherlands, as well as $2 million in fines against Deloitte’s firms in Indonesia and the Philippines, for cheating on exams.

“Integrity is fundamental to effective auditing,” Robert Rice, director of the PCAOB’s Division of Enforcement and Investigations, said in a statement. “Investors must be able to trust that auditors will act with integrity when performing their professional duties.”

Without admitting or denying the findings, PwC Israel agreed to pay a $2.75 million civil money penalty. The firm was censured by the PCAOB and is required:

1. To review and improve its quality control policies and procedures to provide reasonable assurance that its personnel act with integrity in relation to internal training; and,
2. To report to the PCAOB that it has done so within 150 days.

PwC Israel’s legal counsel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.