BF Borgers prosecuted in Canada over audit work

Lakewood, Colorado-based BF Borgers CPA PC and its owner Ben Borgers have been prosecuted by CPA Ontario, the regulatory body that licenses and oversees chartered professional accountants and firms in the province, with offenses including performing the audit of a reporting issuer without registering with CPA Ontario or holding a public accounting license in Ontario.

BF Borgers was permanently suspended by the Securities Exchange Commission in May for deliberate, systemic failures to comply with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board standards for audits and reviews on more than 1,500 SEC filings from January 2021 through June 2023.

The firm and owner Borgers have now pleaded guilty to engaging in public accounting work in Ontario, including performing an audit without registering with CPA Ontario or holding a license in Ontario. They are prosecuted under the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Act, 2017, and the Public Accounting Act of 2004.

BF Borgers and Ben Borgers, who continue to be unauthorized and unlicensed to practice public accounting in Ontario, are required by an order of the Ontario Court of Justice to pay total fines of $50,000 to the government of Ontario and $15,000 to CPA Ontario in respect of its costs of the investigation and prosecution. The order also placed the firm and Borgers on probation for two years. 

"We continue to take action against accounting firms and CPAs who fail to comply with our requirements to practice in the province, in accordance with our mandate to protect the public and uphold the high standards of the CPA profession," said Janet Gillies, executive vice president of regulatory and standards at CPA Ontario, in a statement. "Unregistered and unlicensed firms and CPAs operating in Ontario bypass essential regulatory oversight, undermining public protection and confidence in public accounting."

Following the SEC's charges in May, the firm agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty and Borgers agreed to pay a $2 million civil penalty. Both the firm and Borgers also agreed to permanent suspensions from appearing and practicing before the commission as accountants.

The firm topped the 2021 rankings of new SEC audit clients but in the PCAOB's 2022 inspection report, all 11 of the audits reviewed in that year were included in Part I.A of the report due to the significance of the deficiencies identified.