PwC fined £10m for collapse of retailer BHS, but will pay only £6.5m
London — PwC, which audited the accounts of collapsed British retail chain BHS, has been fined £10m and ordered to review all policies for handling high-risk companies. The sanction, announced by the UK’s Financial Reporting Council on Wednesday, follows a two-year inquiry in which PwC admitted misconduct. The fine is to be reduced by 35% to £6.5m for agreeing to an early settlement, the watchdog said. In addition, Steve Denison, one of the company’s former partners, has been fined £500,000, reduced to £325,000 in return for his co-operation with the inquiry. Denison, who was also banned from audit work for 15 years, left PwC in June after a nearly 33-year career there, according to his LinkedIn profile. He did not immediately respond when contacted via LinkedIn. The Financial Reporting Council launched an investigation of the PwC audit in 2016, a year after it signed off BHS as a "going concern" and billionaire retailer Philip Green sold the loss-making group for £1. "We recognise ...
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