$1 Million Settlement with PricewaterhouseCoopers for Violations

PCAOB Announces $1 Million Settlement with PricewaterhouseCoopers for Violations in its Examination and Audit of Merrill Lynch’s

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today announced that it censured and imposed a $1 million civil penalty against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for violations in its examination and audit of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Incorporated's compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Customer Protection Rule in fiscal year 2014.

"An auditor's attention to a broker's compliance with the SEC's Customer Protection Rule provides critical assurance that the business is protecting customer securities from liens by creditors of the broker," said James R. Doty, PCAOB Chairman. "PwC failed to fulfill its obligations during a period when Merrill Lynch exposed billions of dollars of customer assets to claims of its creditors."

https://pcaobus.org/News/Releases/Pages/PCAOB-PwC-enforcement-order-8-2-17.aspx