Audit giants face fresh calls to be broken up, in UK MPs’ scathing Carillion report
Parliamentary report says Carillion deceived lenders and investors about its debt levels, and was enabled by ‘complacent’ auditors
London — British MPs have renewed calls for the "big four" audit firms to be broken up, in a report that highlights the role of auditors’ "complacency" in the collapse of Carillion. A joint report from two parliamentary committees criticised KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC, along with banks and other advisers, for poor oversight and "squeezing fee income out of what remained of the company" in its final months. The report says Carillion deceived lenders and investors about its debt levels, and was enabled by "complacent" auditors who failed to challenge its "aggressive" accounting. Carillion, which built and managed government projects, "failed to publish the trustworthy information necessary for investors who relied on public statements", the two committees investigating Carillion said in a 107-page report published on Wednesday. The January bankruptcy left unpaid debts of about £1.6bn, including bank loans and defaulted bonds. The joint report from the work and pensions committee and t...
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