Government suspends two public accountants
Government suspends two public accountants
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Continuing the government's fight against investment fraud,
Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar announced on Thursday the license
suspensions of two public accountants on the grounds of
professional misconduct.
Yusuf suspended the licenses of public accountants Selamat
Sinuraya and Irawati Kusumadi for three months as of Oct. 19.
Irawati's firm would also be disallowed from practicing
accountancy for the same period.
Ministry officials said investigations had led to the
conclusion the accountants had violated Article 24 of Ministerial
Decree No. 423/KMK.06/2002, as amended by Ministerial Decree No.
359/KMK.06/2003, on public accounting services.
The articles require public accountants to conform with set
national standards of professionalism and with a code of ethics
during the auditing of company financial reports.
The officials did not explain the detail of the violations or
whether the accountants would face criminal investigations.
Earlier this month, Yusuf revoked the license of public
accountant Bombongan Panjaitan, and suspended the licenses of
accountants Hakim Murni and Lodewijk Purba, as well as their
accounting firms, for 12 months as of Sept. 22.
Public accountants are usually hired by corporations and other
entities to audit their financial reports. Investors and
financial analysts use these reports to help them make judgments
about the true value and prospects of a company. Banks,
meanwhile, also rely on the reports when they approve credits for
a company.
The suspensions came after several cases of questionable
audits surfaced recently.
Beverage firm Coca-Cola Co, a subsidiary of European food
giant Nestle SA, recently reported Jakarta-listed drinking water
company PT Ades Alfindo Putrasetia to the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for inflating its sales volumes since 2001.
Auditor Dedy Saefudin has claimed the audit was based on
actual figures and that no violations had been committed.
That case is currently under investigation here.
Economist Faisal Basri, meanwhile, praised the suspensions of
the accountants and said that they would help create a more
positive sentiment toward the country's markets.
"It is certainly good news, amid the many indications that
public accountants here collude with the companies that hire them
to polish up their financial reports," he said.
Faisal said the move would help raise the public's trust of
accountants and of the country's stock market.
"It will, in the end, improve the country's general investment
climate," he said.
Warning that the move would likely spark protests from the
public accountant community, Faisal said the ministry should not
be deterred as long as it had a firm legal basis for its actions.
In a related move against investment fraud, Yusuf has set up
the special Unit for Investigation (IBI) inspectorate to probe
corruption and bribery within the ministry.