Facts
The appellant, [A.] , was granted unlimited approval as an audit expert by the Federal Audit Oversight Authority (RAB) on 26 September 2007 and was entered in the register of auditors. He was the sole owner, sole member of the board of directors and management, as well as an audit employee of [Z. AG] , which was, among other things, the audit office of [Y. AG] and other companies of the [Y.] group.
The appellant, as lead auditor, audited the consolidated financial statements for 2010 and 2011 of [Y. AG] and the annual financial statements of the companies of the [Y.] group. He also represented shareholder [B.D.] at the general meetings of [Y. AG] and attended board meetings.
The RAB withdrew the appellant's approval as an audit expert for a period of two years, as he had grossly and repeatedly violated the independence regulations. The appellant lodged a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court, which dismissed the complaint.
The appellant then lodged a complaint in public law matters with the Federal Court, requesting that the judgment of the Federal Administrative Court be set aside and the supervisory procedure be discontinued without costs.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the withdrawal of the approval as an audit expert was lawful. It found that the appellant had violated the independence regulations by auditing the consolidated financial statements for 2010 and 2011 of [Y. AG] and the annual financial statements of the companies of the [Y.] group as lead auditor, although he represented shareholder [B.D.] at the general meetings of [Y. AG] and attended board meetings.
The court found that the withdrawal of the approval without prior warning was unlawful, as the appellant had already remedied the unlawful situation before the authorities intervened by resigning from the audit mandate. It warned…