Big Four Under Attack as Timid Accounting Regulator Gets Tough
- KPMG audit quality deemed unacceptable by under-fire regulator
- PwC fined $9 million for auditing of collapsed company BHS
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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The U.K. accounting watchdog is ramping up misconduct fines after being called useless and toothless by lawmakers irate at the failure of the accounting industry to prevent several high-profile corporate collapses.
Over two days last week, the Financial Review Council levied penalties totaling 14.5 million pounds ($19 million), almost equal to the total fines that the regulator issued in all of 2017. And late Monday it issued an unprecedented warning that KPMG’s audit work is of an unacceptable standard and the firm will face increased scrutiny.