Auditors’ duty of care could extend to non-clients

Auditors may be exposed to increased liability in the wake of a court decision that extended one firm’s duty of care to non-clients, says Toronto commercial litigation lawyer William Pepall.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba held an accounting firm responsible for losses suffered by customers of a former client, people with whom the auditor had no contractual relationship and who did not rely on its financial statements, says Pepall, partner with Lerners LLP.