SINGAPORE: On Friday( Sept. 15 ), a Woodlands Wellington Football Club audit assistant was fined S$ 20,000 for falsifying an accountant’s signature on an independent audit report.
The court was informed that Lau Chee Yoong, 34, a public accounting firm owned by & nbsp at the time and working under pressure from his workload, committed the crime.
Investigations into a separate incident involving Tiong Bahru Football Club turned up Lau’s crime, which led to his discovery. & nbsp,
He admitted guilt to the fraud demand involving Woodlands Wellington, and a similar charge against Hougang United Football Club was considered for punishment. Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington were both Chan Leng leng & amp, Co. ‘ s clients.
The court was informed that Lau had been given the responsibility of conducting the audit of Woodlands Wellington for the 2015 fiscal year by sole proprietor Chan Leng Lng & nbsp prior to March 2016. & nbsp,
Lau started reviewing the soccer team’s financial records with the assistance of a banking executive from Woodlands Wellington. But as he was juggling several accounts, his task started to build up, which led to a pause. & nbsp,
In order for the club to submit its financial statements to & nbsp, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore( IRAS) by the end of May 2016, Woodlands Wellington’s finance executive started pressuring him to complete the task. & nbsp,
Towards the close of May, Lau completed the financial statements. Andnbsp, before Chan agreed to an independent examiner’s report, He was supposed to give her the working papers and financial statements for review. & nbsp,
But, because Chan had other assessments to complete and Lau was unable to send the documents to him, he hurriedly did so. & nbsp,
Woodland Wellington’s banking executive persisted in pressuring him for the signed papers at the same time. & nbsp,
Lau made the decision to work Chan’s signature after giving in to the pressure. & nbsp,
On a report from an impartial auditor for the prior fiscal year, he copied Chan’s name and removed it. Before photocopying the documents, he therefore adhered the cut-out name to the independent examiner’s report for that fiscal time. & nbsp,
Lau next traced the unique to make it appear more realistic using a pencil. & nbsp,
The document was then sent to Woodlands Wellington along with the financial statements for the 2015 fiscal year after he stamped the day May 16, 2016. & nbsp,
The sport club reported the remarks to the Registry of Societies, IRAS, and the Singapore Football Association, among other organizations, but was unable to identify the fraud. & nbsp,
Sports Singapore filed a police statement about Tiong Bahru’s abnormalities in April 2017, and the fraud was only discovered as part of the Commercial Affairs Department investigations into the sports team.
The government even looked into Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington as part of the investigation and seized their inspection reports. & nbsp, Chan informed investigators that she did not sign on financial statements pertaining to Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United accounts for the 2015 fiscal year. Therefore, investigations revealed Lau’s violence. & nbsp,
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Thiagesh Sukumaran, assessment affiliates have crucial responsibilities because the support of financial claims may affect outside choices made by parties, such as investors, regarding a company’s financial health. & nbsp,
He continued by saying that the judge was never downplay the significance of financial statements used to forecast a company’s financial viability. & nbsp,
For Lau, he requested a fine of S$ 20, 000 ( US$ 14, 700 ) to S$ 25,000. & nbsp,
Mr. Thiagesh argued that the system’s trust may be compromised if government organizations were unable to verify the veracity of files. & nbsp,
To” deter like – minded individuals from committing such offenses ,” he said, a significant fine was required.
” Not only does it recover system trust, but it also prevents accounting professionals from committing these crimes without considering the repercussions.”
The trial noted that the offense’s sophistication was another aggravating issue. And this is demonstrated by the fact that the murder went unnoticed until the nearly a year-long investigation into Tiong Bahru Football Club. & nbsp,
Gideon Yap, Lau’s attorney, proposed a fine of S 10,000, citing numerous instances that demonstrated the” common number” imposed was only half of what Lau was seeking. & nbsp,
Given his client’s situation, in which there was” no benefit” but a mistake made” in the moment of pressure ,” he claimed that S$ 10, 000 would be enough to send an important message.
Additionally, Mr. Yap requested that District Judge Ronald Gwee consider the” considerable pause of seven times” before passing judgment on the case. & nbsp,
Judge Gwee concurred with the trial that discouraging another audit professionals from following suit was crucial. & nbsp,
Lau could have been fined, jailed for fraud for up to four years, or both.