EY ShinNihon LLC is a member firm of EY (Ernst & Young), which has approximately 400,000 employees in over 150 countries and regions around the world and provides audit and assurance, tax, strategy and transaction, and consulting services.
We asked Keiji Tanaka of the firm, which provides leading expertise and services in the Web 3.0 industry, about the main challenges of accounting audits in cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses.
Please tell us how you came to be co-leader of the BlockChain Center at EY ShinNihon LLC.
Keiji Tanaka (hereinafter, Tanaka): I started my career as an accountant in 2000, and first came into contact with the field of crypto assets around 2017.
Initially, I was auditing major consumer goods companies such as food and cosmetics, but by chance, several clients I was in charge of at the time started to develop businesses related to crypto assets and Web 3.0, so I became involved in that field as well.
In 2017, the term "Web 3.0" itself was not yet common. As I faced various problems related to crypto assets through my audit work and deepened my knowledge, I was able to increase my knowledge of the field within the firm, and thankfully I became recognized as a knowledgeable person within the firm.
Gradually, the number of consultations regarding crypto assets increased, and now I have several crypto asset exchanges as clients.
In this way, I began to receive more crypto asset cases, which led to my position as co-leader of the BlockChain Center at EY ShinNihon LLC.
Were you scared of cryptocurrencies?
Tanaka: In audit work, stock investments are heavily regulated due to considerations of independence and insider trading regulations, but there are also certain restrictions on cryptocurrency investments.
I myself have owned cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, but since I didn't own that much, I didn't feel particularly scared of cryptocurrencies.