(b) It appears that a surgeon is carrying out medical procedures without the necessary qualifications. This could clearly lead to
serious damage being caused to a patient while undergoing laser eye surgery, and indeed this seems to have already occurred.
The medical profession is highly regulated, and it is important for the auditor to consider obligations in the event of any serious
breach of laws and regulations relevant to Plover Co.
It is management’s responsibility that laws and regulations are followed, and auditors are not expected to prevent or detect
non-compliance, especially non-compliances which have limited impact on the financial statements.
HKSA 250 Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements provides relevant guidance. It is
required that if the auditor becomes aware of a suspected non-compliance, an understanding of the nature of the act and the
circumstances in which it occurred should be obtained.
Therefore the auditor should establish whether it is the case that the surgeon is not qualified, possibly through reviewing the
personnel file of the surgeon or discussing with the person responsible for recruitment.
The auditor should also discuss the matter with management and/or those charged with governance. It may be that they are
unaware of the surgeon’s apparent lack of qualifications, or possibly there is an alternative explanation in that the surgeon is
qualified to perform laser eye surgery but does not possess a full medical qualification.
The potential impact of the apparent non-compliance should be evaluated. In this case, Plover Co could face further legal
action from dissatisfied or injured patients, fines and penalties from the regulatory authorities and its going concern may be
in jeopardy if that authority has the power to revoke its operating licence. If these potential effects are considered to be material
to the financial statements, legal advice may need to be obtained.
In the event that the surgeon’s work is in breach of relevant laws and regulations, management should be encouraged to
report the non-compliance to the relevant authority.
If management fail to make such a disclosure, the auditor should consider making the necessary disclosure. However, due
to the professional duty to maintain the confidentiality of client information, it is generally not acceptable to disclose
client-related matters to external parties.
ACCA’s Code of Ethics and Conduct provides additional guidance, stating that a member may disclose information which
would otherwise be confidential if disclosure can be justified in the public interest. There is no definition of public interest
which places members in a difficult position as to whether or not disclosure is justified. Matters such as the gravity of the
situation, whether members of the public may be affected, and the possibility and likelihood of repeated non-compliance
should be considered.
Determination of where the balance of public interest lies will require very careful consideration and it will often be appropriate
to take legal advice before making a decision. The reasons underlying any decision whether or not to disclose should be fully
documented.
The fact that a legal claim has been filed against Plover Co means that the audit work on provisions and contingent liabilities
should be extended. Further evidence should be obtained regarding the legal correspondence, in particular the amount of the
compensation claim. The date of the claim and the date of the medical incident to which it relates should also be ascertained
in order to determine whether a provision for the claim should be recognised in accordance with HKAS 37 Provisions,
Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, or whether a note to the financial statements regarding the non-adjusting event
should be made.
Tutorial note: Per HKAS 37 commencing major litigation arising solely out of events that occurred after the year end is an
example of a non-adjusting event after the reporting period.
The audit firm may wish to consider the integrity of the audit client. If the management of Plover Co knowingly allowed an
unqualified person to carry out medical procedures then its integrity is questionable, in which case Raven & Co may wish to
resign from the audit appointment as soon as possible. This is especially important given the legal claim recently filed against
the client, which could result in bad publicity for Plover Co, and possibly by association for Raven & Co.