EY Han Young wraps 7th accounting transparency seminar amid rising corporate risks

Amid growing corporate risks driven by amendments to the Commercial Act and the rapid spread of AI technology, industry leaders gathered to discuss ways to enhance accounting transparency and governance as a means of boosting corporate value.

EY Han Young, a global accounting and consulting firm, said it held the 7th EY Han Young Accounting Transparency Seminar on Friday at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, under the theme "A New Risk Environment: The Future of Governance."

The seminar drew more than 250 executives, board members and audit committee officials from domestic companies, who shared insights on key accounting and internal accounting management system issues this year, responses to sustainability disclosure requirements, and the evolving roles of audit committees, boards and management.

The event opened with a welcome address by EY Han Young CEO Park Yong-geun and congratulatory remarks by Park Min-woo, standing commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission. Officials from the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service then outlined policy directions and supervisory priorities for improving accounting transparency.

Lee Jeong-chan, an official at the Financial Services Commission, presented policy measures to raise audit quality in response to the implementation of the revised Commercial Act and the expanded use of AI. Lee Jae-hoon, director of the Financial Supervisory Service's first accounting inspection bureau, announced a shift toward a preventive supervisory framework — including shorter inspection cycles and stiffer financial penalties for serious accounting fraud — and urged companies and their management to build effective internal controls.

The EY Han Young session that followed examined how shifts in the economic environment and business structures, the enforcement of the revised Commercial Act, and the introduction of K-IFRS 1118 are affecting financial reporting and year-end closing, along with strategies for responding to those changes. Yang Jun-kwon, head of quality control at EY Han Young, identified three priority tasks: overhauling control frameworks for AI use, redesigning authority and accountability structures, and strengthening audit committee oversight. Yang said companies must manage their data infrastructure and internal controls for sustainability disclosures with the same rigor applied to financial information in order to ensure reliability.

In the final session, Chae Su-wan, a partner in EY Han Young's consulting division, analyzed how audit committee responsibilities have expanded since the Commercial Act revision — shifting from after-the-fact review toward an enterprise-wide risk oversight framework built on continuous monitoring. Chae proposed a six-part defense framework to protect organizations and their management: a continuous monitoring system, a fraud risk management program, strengthened internal controls, a compliance management system, decision-making procedures and documentation, and a reporting and escalation system.

The urgency of building AI governance frameworks in line with South Korea's AI Basic Act and the EU AI Act, as well as addressing cybersecurity risks, was also underscored. Chae said waiting for regulatory guidelines before acting would be too late, and advised companies to immediately put in place AI governance systems that work in practice.

"Risks surrounding companies are growing more complex amid the Commercial Act revision and the spread of AI, and the roles of management, boards and audit committees are becoming ever more critical," EY Han Young CEO Park said. "I hope the risk management and governance strategies discussed at this seminar will help companies not only improve accounting transparency but also strengthen corporate value and market trust."

Meanwhile, EY Han Young posted total sales of 764.8 billion won ($570 million) and operating profit of 13.9 billion won for fiscal year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025), continuing its growth trajectory.