Thursday, July 9, 2026

KPMG accused of providing false audit information

A disciplinary tribunal will review the formal complaint case, with a hearing scheduled to start on January 10.

• September 1, 2021

A formal complaint has been filed against KPMG, its current and former staff by the accounting regulator for allegedly submitting false information as part of audit inspections of the collapsed firm Carillion and Regenersis.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the disciplinary complaint alleged that KPMG and several individuals gave false and misleading information and documents to the watchdog when it was reviewing two audits.

One of the audits was for failed outsourcing giant Carillion and the other was a 2014 audit of then technology group Regenersis, according to the FRC.

It came amid mounting pressure on KPMG over the quality of its audits after it was fined almost £13 million just weeks ago over the sale of bed maker, Silent Night, to a private equity firm in 2011.

The FRC tribunal found that one of KPMG’s partners helped push client Silent Night towards insolvency, enabling HIG Capital to buy the business out of administration.

The individuals, who have been served with the formal complaint in the latest case, include Peter Meehan, the engagement partner for the Carillion audit, and Stuart Smith, the engagement partner for the Regenersis audit.

The FRC said that the complaint did not claim the audits were wrongly done or that financial statements were not properly prepared.

A disciplinary tribunal will review the formal complaint case, with a hearing scheduled to start on January 10.

The 2016 audit of Carillion’s financial statements was being investigated in separate ongoing investigations, with KPMG facing a potentially hefty fine when the FRC probe wraps up in the coming months.

KPMG and other Big Four accountancy firms were spinning off their restructuring arms in a bid to avoid conflict of interest in its business.

It came ahead of an expected government move that would force them to split their audit divisions from the rest of the business to ensure they stay independent following the Carillion demise and other major corporate failures. 

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Defence minister Christopher Musa

Hot news Home top

Officers who wait for orders to kill terrorists will be treated as bandits: Defence Minister

Defence Minister Christopher Musa says security personnel do not need to wait for an order before engaging armed bandits or terrorists.

House of Representatives,

Heading 3

Reps urge Tinubu to act as Nigerians paid N2.23 trillion ransom to kidnappers

The House emphasised the need to strengthen financial intelligence and collaboration among relevant security.

Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission [NUPRC]

NationWide

2024 Bid Round: NUPRC hands petroleum prospecting licences to 12 firms

NUPRC said the exercise marked another milestone in efforts to attract fresh investment into the upstream petroleum industry.

African Democratic Party (ADC)

Hot news Home top

ADC bars state chapters from receiving court processes, engaging lawyers

Mr Abdullahi said the party received reports that court processes relating to the ADC were being served on state chapters across the country.

Rainfall

Heading 4

NiMet predicts three-day cloudy, rainy atmosphere from Thursday

According to NiMet, strong winds may precede rain in areas where thunderstorms are likely.

Census

Heading 1

Stop guessing Nigeria’s population, UN tells FG

Ms Mafico reaffirmed UNFPA’s support for Nigeria’s next population and housing census.