In a recent post, I asked why independent directors in Singapore are rarely held accountable, where I mentioned that Bursa Malaysia and other regulators in Malaysia seem to be more active in taking enforcement actions including against independent directors. The following is an announcement from the Securities Commission Malaysia last night about enforcement action against five directors, including three audit committee members.
It so happens that I have a case about this company written which will be in volume 7 of the Corporate Governance Case Studies book, published by CPA Australia, due out in October 2018.
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December 4, 2017 @ 9:01pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) reprimanded and fined five directors of TRIVE Property Group Bhd (Trive) for knowingly furnishing false or misleading statements in the 2014 audited financial statements of the company to SC and Bursa Malaysia.
”SC’s sanctions arose as a result of its findings that Trive had failed to perform an impairment assessment on its development expenditure amounting to RM21.1 million as at 31 July 2014 in accordance with the approved accounting standards, namely, the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) 136: Impairment of Assets. This resulted in Trive and its five directors breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Securities Industry (Compliance with Approved Accounting Standards) Regulations 1999 and section 369(b)(B) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA).
“Given the severity of the directors’ failure to discharge their duties in ensuring that financial statements submitted to the regulators are true and fair, SC imposed a total fine of RM2.55 million on the directors. Three directors, Wong Kok Seong, Thu Soon Shien and DatuklMohamad Amin Mohamad Salleh, who at the relevant time were Audit Committee members, were fined RM539,000 each. Two other directors, Datuk Sri Dr Pang Chow Huat and Zarul Ikhwan Zarul Ahmad were fined RM465,500 each.
“Separately, SC reprimanded Trive and directed Trive to address its financial reporting function. This includes a directive to Trive to appoint an external auditor to assess the adequacy of Trive’s financial reporting function,” added SC.
SC has also reminded all listed corporations, directors and chief executive officers to be vigilant and ensure adherence to all relevant financial reporting standards and disclosure requirements at all times.
“SC views non-compliance with approved accounting standards and disclosure requirements as a serious breach. High standards of financial reporting and disclosures are fundamental in promoting market integrity and enhancing investor confidence,” it added.
