Former Marcum Auditor Fined $75,000 Over Quality Control Deficiencies

By Dean Seal

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed a $75,000 fine on a former Marcum auditor due to alleged deficiencies in the accounting firm's quality control system.

According to the Wall Street regulator, Alfonse Gregory Giugliano, the former National Assurance Services Leader at Marcum, is the subject of an enforcement action filed by the SEC.

The complaint states that Giugliano oversaw the quality control for Marcum's public company practice during a period of significant growth, which led to the exposure of deficiencies within the firm's quality control functions.

Both internal inspections conducted by Marcum and external inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board discovered these deficiencies. However, Giugliano did not adequately address the issues, resulting in violations of auditing standards throughout Marcum's audit work, as reported by the SEC.

Giugliano, without admitting or denying the allegations, has agreed to pay a $75,000 fine and will be prohibited from holding a leadership role at a public accounting firm for three years.

Earlier this year, the SEC reached a $13 million settlement with Marcum to settle allegations of quality control failures related to its auditing work for numerous special-purpose acquisition companies.