FMA Strips Sydney Auditor's NZ Licence Over Greenfern Cannabis Audit Failures

New Zealand's financial regulator cancelled Scott Bennison's auditing licence citing breaches tied to his review of collapsed medicinal cannabis firm Greenfern Industries.

FILE — statehouse · B.D. Gilfry / CC BY-SA 2.0

New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority has cancelled the licence of Sydney-based auditor Scott Bennison, citing failures connected to his work on the audit of Greenfern Industries, a Taranaki medicinal cannabis company that collapsed into receivership last year, according to 1News.

What the FMA Found

The regulator said it was satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that Bennison breached several conditions of his licence to carry out financial markets conduct audits in New Zealand, 1News reported. The failures centered on his role as engagement quality reviewer for Greenfern's group financial statements for the year ending March 31, 2024, according to the outlet.

Bennison works for Sydney accounting firm KS Black & Co, which Greenfern had appointed as its auditor prior to the company's receivership, 1News reported.

FMA executive director of response and enforcement Louise Unger said the cancellation followed a statutory process and reflected the seriousness of the conduct identified, according to 1News. Unger noted Bennison retains a right of appeal, stating: "Mr Bennison has the right to appeal the FMA's decision to the District Court under the Auditor Regulation Act 2011," as quoted by 1News.

The FMA also thanked Australia's Securities and Investments Commission for cooperating during the regulatory process, 1News reported, pointing to a cross-border element in the enforcement action given Bennison's Australian base.

Greenfern's Collapse

Greenfern Industries, founded in 2018, operated across medicinal cannabis, biotechnology, industrial hemp and hemp food, according to 1News. The company was placed into receivership in February 2025 after failing to meet its payment obligations, the outlet reported.

Our database shows no official licensing records specifically matching Greenfern Industries, and no state-level sales or licensing statistics are available to independently verify the company's financial position at the time of the disputed audit. That leaves the precise scale of the accounting issues underlying the FMA's action unconfirmed beyond what 1News has reported.

Wider Industry Backdrop

The action against Bennison lands amid a period of consolidation and regulatory change in New Zealand's medicinal cannabis sector. Related coverage in our database shows Ora Pharm completed an acquisition of Helius aimed at building an export pathway, suggesting ownership shifts are already reshaping the industry following high-profile setbacks like Greenfern's.

Separately, New Zealand authorities have moved to simplify hemp rules, setting a THC threshold of 1.0% and easing licensing requirements, according to HempToday coverage in our database. A Sechat report in our database also describes New Zealand positioning itself for medicinal cannabis exports to Brazil, citing government figures showing flower export volumes rising from 49 kg in 2021 to 2,310.3 kg in 2025 and average export licence processing time falling from 22.5 business days in 2022/2023 to 6.4 business days in 2025/2026.

What to Watch

It remains unclear whether the FMA's findings against Bennison will prompt broader scrutiny of audit practices tied to other New Zealand cannabis companies, as no such follow-on actions have been reported. Bennison's right to appeal to the District Court under the Auditor Regulation Act 2011 also means the cancellation is not necessarily final, pending any legal challenge. Given the absence of licensing records tied directly to Greenfern in available state data, further detail on the company's financial collapse and its relationship to the audit failures may depend on additional reporting or receivership disclosures not yet covered in the source material.