It had to happen. I guess later rather than sooner is good enough. For the first time, the PCAOB has fined a big four accounting firm. Deloitte has been fined $1 million for the troubled 2003 audit of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, the Financial Times reports. A partner, James Fazio, was given a two-year ban from the industry after the PCAOB determined he had failed to adequately audit Ligand's reported revenues from products which included a right of return. In addition, he was said to have failed at taking into account the company's ability to accurately estimate likely returns - given past problems. Some might wonder if more such actions are forthcoming. Given the large restatements (the trends are down recently) you would think so. But we'll have to wait and see.  

For more:
- here's the Financial Times article [1]