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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Canada · PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited · Triennially Inspected
- Inspection year
- 2024
- Report date
- 25-Sep-2025
- PCAOB release
- 104-2025-152
- Audits reviewed
- 7
- Audits w/ Part I.A deficiencies
- 3
- Part I.A deficiency rate
- 43%
- Part I.A deficiencies
- 8
- Part I.B deficiencies
- 4
- Report
- View PDF ↗
Deficiencies (8)
Grouped by issuer and in the same order as the PCAOB report, so each item ties back directly to the source.
Issuer A4 deficiencies
| # | Area | Deficiency | Standard | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Combinations | During the year the issuer completed a business combination and used various significant assumptions including reserves and resources estimates from a report (“technical report”) prepared by external specialists engaged by the acquired company to estimate and record the fair value of an acquired asset and assumed liability. The issuer utilized internal specialists (the “company's employed specialists”) to assess the reasonableness of the reserves and resources estimates reflected in the technical report by remodeling the estimates and comparing the results to the estimates reflected in the technical report. The firm selected for testing a control that consisted of the issuer's review of the financial and non-financial assumptions including the reserves and resources estimates reflected in the technical report that were used by the issuer to estimate the fair value of the acquired asset and assumed liability. This control used the remodeled reserves and resources estimates developed by the company's employed specialists. The following deficiency was identified: • The firm did not identify and test any controls over the accuracy and completeness of the reserves and resources estimates remodeled by the company's employed specialists that were used in the operation of this control including the (1) accuracy and completeness of issuer-produced non-financial data and (2) relevance and reliability of external data all of which were utilized by the company's employed specialists to remodel the reserves and resources estimates. (AS 2201.39) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 2201.39 | |
| 2 | Business Combinations | During the year the issuer completed a business combination and used various significant assumptions including reserves and resources estimates from a report (“technical report”) prepared by external specialists engaged by the acquired company to estimate and record the fair value of an acquired asset and assumed liability. The issuer utilized internal specialists (the “company's employed specialists”) to assess the reasonableness of the reserves and resources estimates reflected in the technical report by remodeling the estimates and comparing the results to the estimates reflected in the technical report. The firm selected for testing a control that consisted of the issuer's review of the financial and non-financial assumptions including the reserves and resources estimates reflected in the technical report that were used by the issuer to estimate the fair value of the acquired asset and assumed liability. This control used the remodeled reserves and resources estimates developed by the company's employed specialists. The following deficiency was identified: • The firm did not identify that the control owners did not (1) evaluate the reasonableness of the financial and non-financial assumptions developed by the issuer and/or the company's employed specialists and used by the company's employed specialists to remodel the reserves and resources estimates and (2) evaluate the appropriateness of the methods used by company's employed specialists to remodel the reserves and resources estimates. (AS 2201.42 and .44) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 2201.42; AS 2201.44 | |
| 3 | Business Combinations | During the year the issuer completed a business combination and used various significant assumptions including reserves and resources estimates from a report (“technical report”) prepared by external specialists engaged by the acquired company to estimate and record the fair value of an acquired asset and assumed liability. The issuer utilized internal specialists (the “company's employed specialists”) to assess the reasonableness of the reserves and resources estimates reflected in the technical report by remodeling the estimates and comparing the results to the estimates reflected in the technical report. The firm's approach for substantively testing the fair value of the acquired asset and assumed liability from the business combination was to test the issuer's process. The following deficiency was identified: • The firm did not evaluate the reasonableness of the reserves and resources estimates as reflected in the technical report which were considered by the firm to be significant assumptions used by the issuer to estimate the fair value of the acquired asset and assumed liability beyond obtaining and reading the technical report prepared by the acquired company's external specialists. Further the firm did not perform procedures to evaluate the work of the company's employed specialists. (AS 1105.A6 -.A10; AS 2501.16) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 1105.A10; AS 1105.A6; AS 1105.A7; AS 1105.A8; AS 1105.A9; AS 2501.16 | |
| 4 | Business Combinations | During the year the issuer completed a business combination and used various significant assumptions including reserves and resources estimates from a report (“technical report”) prepared by external specialists engaged by the acquired company to estimate and record the fair value of an acquired asset and assumed liability. The issuer utilized internal specialists (the “company's employed specialists”) to assess the reasonableness of the reserves and resources estimates reflected in the technical report by remodeling the estimates and comparing the results to the estimates reflected in the technical report. The firm's approach for substantively testing the fair value of the acquired asset and assumed liability from the business combination was to test the issuer's process. The following deficiency was identified: • The firm did not sufficiently evaluate the reasonableness of certain other significant assumptions used by the issuer to estimate the fair value of the acquired asset because it limited its procedures to comparing the assumptions to those of similar companies or external vendor quotes. (AS 2501.16) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 2501.16 |
Issuer B3 deficiencies
| # | Area | Deficiency | Standard | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long-Lived Assets | The issuer engaged specialists to estimate its oil and gas reserves (“reserve estimates”) which were then used in the (1) calculation of depreciation depletion and amortization and (2) impairment analysis of long-lived assets. The company's specialists used financial and non-financial data and assumptions deemed significant by the firm to develop the reserve estimates in the reserve report. The firm selected for testing a control that consisted of the issuer's review and approval of the final reserve estimates provided by the company's specialists. The firm did not identify when testing the design of this control that the control owners did not (1) evaluate the reasonableness of the non-financial assumptions developed by the issuer and/or the company's specialists and used by the company's specialists to develop the reserve estimates and (2) evaluate the appropriateness of the methods used by company's specialists to develop the reserve estimates. (AS 2201.42) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 2201.42 | |
| 2 | Long-Lived Assets | The issuer engaged specialists to estimate its oil and gas reserves (“reserve estimates”) which were then used in the (1) calculation of depreciation depletion and amortization and (2) impairment analysis of long-lived assets. The company's specialists used financial and non-financial data and assumptions deemed significant by the firm to develop the reserve estimates in the reserve report. The firm's approach for substantively testing the reserve estimates was to test the issuer's process. The following deficiency was identified: • The firm did not evaluate the reasonableness of the significant non-financial assumptions developed by the issuer and/or the company's specialists and used by the company's specialists to develop the reserve estimates. (AS 1105.A8b; AS 2501.16) • The firm did not evaluate whether the methods used by the company's specialists to develop the reserve estimates were appropriate under the circumstances taking into account the requirements of the applicable financial reporting framework beyond inquiry of the methods used with the company's specialists. (AS 1105.A8c) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 1105.A8b; AS 2501.16 | |
| 3 | Long-Lived Assets | The issuer engaged specialists to estimate its oil and gas reserves (“reserve estimates”) which were then used in the (1) calculation of depreciation depletion and amortization and (2) impairment analysis of long-lived assets. The company's specialists used financial and non-financial data and assumptions deemed significant by the firm to develop the reserve estimates in the reserve report. The firm's approach for substantively testing the reserve estimates was to test the issuer's process. The following deficiency was identified: • The firm did not evaluate the reasonableness of the significant non-financial assumptions developed by the issuer and/or the company's specialists and used by the company's specialists to develop the reserve estimates. (AS 1105.A8b; AS 2501.16) • The firm did not evaluate whether the methods used by the company's specialists to develop the reserve estimates were appropriate under the circumstances taking into account the requirements of the applicable financial reporting framework beyond inquiry of the methods used with the company's specialists. (AS 1105.A8c) Both financial statement and ICFR audits | AS 1105.A8c |
Issuer C1 deficiency
| # | Area | Deficiency | Standard | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revenue | The firm selected for testing a control over revenue recognition that consisted of the issuer's review of customer contracts. The firm did not perform procedures to test or test any controls over the completeness of an issuer-prepared report of new and modified contracts from which it made its selections for testing. (AS 1105.10) Financial statement audit only | AS 1105.10 |