Mid-tier accountancy firm Grant Thornton, which handles over 7,000 companies, is being investigated over its financial statements for Interserve plc.
The Financial Reporting Council has commenced its probe of the financial statements of Interserve Plc for the years ended 31 December 2015, 2016 and 2017. The investigation will be conducted under the Audit Enforcement Procedure.
This will be a further blow for Grant Thornton which was involved in auditing the collapsed cake chain Patisserie Valerie.
The ID Co launch new verification product for banks
David Dunckley, chief executive of Grant Thornton, told MPs in January on the business, energy and industrial strategy committee that there was an ‘expectation gap’ that ‘needs to be fixed’.
“We’re not looking for fraud, we’re not looking at the future, we’re not giving a statement that the accounts are correct,” he said, adding that his firm audits 7,000 companies. “We are saying [the accounts are] reasonable, we are looking in the past and we are not set up to look for fraud.”
Henderson Loggie rebrands as MHA Henderson Loggie
The FRC's mission is to promote transparency and integrity in business. The FRC sets the UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes and UK standards for accounting and actuarial work; monitors and takes action to promote the quality of corporate reporting; and operates independent enforcement arrangements for accountants and actuaries. As the competent authority for audit in the UK the FRC sets auditing and ethical standards and monitors and enforces audit quality.
The Audit Enforcement Procedure applies to the investigation and sanctioning of breaches of the various requirements of the statutory auditors of Public Interest Entities (PIEs) and any other cases retained by the FRC including AIM companies with a market capitalisation in excess of €200m.
