Canadian Public Accountability Board eases enforcement action against PKF Antares

TORONTO, May 18, 2025 – The Canadian Public Accountability Board has permitted PKF Antares Professional Corporation, Chartered Professional Accountants, to accept new medium-risk reporting issuer audit clients, including those resulting from initial public offerings, reverse takeovers, or other transactions.

However, according to CPAB's recently released enforcement action update, the Calgary-based firm remains prohibited from accepting new high-risk reporting issuer audit engagements, including those resulting from initial public offerings, reverse takeovers or other transactions. The firm has provided definitions of high-risk reporting issuer engagements that are acceptable to CPAB.

PKF Antares also continues to be required to pay a monetary assessment to recover the costs of monitoring of the firm’s compliance with the enforcement actions. The restrictions had been a consequence of three inspections in the past five years. According to CPAB, “in the interest of improving audit quality at the Firm, certain enforcement actions were imposed on the Firm in 2023.”

However, “in view of various factors, including the Firm’s demonstrated commitment to, and improvement of, audit quality, and compliance with all enforcement actions and recommendations imposed in the prior year,” the Canadian audit watchdog terminated the enforcement action related to new, medium-risk reporting issuer audit clients.

The firm is also relieved on remedial actions related to root cause analyses, audit quality action plans, and professional education and training.

PKF Antares Professional Corporation also inspected by PCAOB

PKF Antares is headquartered in Calgary and has offices in Toronto (Mississauga) and Bermuda. A regional firm, PKF Antares is part of the PKF International network, a global network of accountancy firms with approximately 200 member firms operating under the PKF brand in 150 countries across five regions. 

The PKF Bermuda office was announced in 2023, when Erkin Atakhanov, the managing director of PKF Antares, was interviewed by The Royal Gazette of Bermuda. At the time, Mr. Atakhanov indicated an interest in staffing the Bermuda office with a mixture of Bermudians and Canadians, and noted his appreciation of the Bermuda government's approach to business.

“Establishing a branch in Bermuda was much easier than setting up in Quebec, and that was in the same country. The rules in Quebec are way more complicated.”

In 2024, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released an inspection report of the Alberta accounting firm, in which PKF Antares noted its disagreements with the regulator’s conclusions. Not only did PKF Antares believe its engagement team obtained “sufficient appropriate audit evidence” but any contrary conclusion was “patently erroneous.”

Later that year, Canadian Accountant noted that another Canadian accounting firm, Kreston GTA used similar language in its reply to the US audit watchdog. Both firms also noted that they had worked with an “external consultant with over then [sic] ten years prior inspection experience with the PCAOB.”

(Our observation was noted in a September 2024 episode of The Accounting Podcast, hosted by Blake Oliver and David Leary, during a discussion of the movement of CPAs between the regulatory and consulting worlds.)

CPAB’s update concludes: “Each enforcement action imposed on the Firm shall continue until the Firm has, to CPAB’s satisfaction, demonstrated a sustained improvement in audit quality or until the above noted enforcement actions are otherwise terminated pursuant to an application under Rule 605.”

Colin Ellis is a contributing editor to Canadian Accountant.