Patisserie Valerie: Four face fraud charges over collapse – BBC News
‘Four people have been charged with fraud connected to the collapse of bakery chain Patisserie Valerie in 2019.’
BBC News, 13th September 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: auditors
Michael Gove launches independent investigation into Teesworks freeport – The Independent
‘The Government will open an investigation into accusations of wrongdoing at the UK’s largest freeport.’
The Independent, 24th May 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
PwC fined for Babcock audit failings including creating false record – The Guardian
‘The consultancy group PwC has been hit with a £7.5m fine over a string of serious breaches while auditing the engineering company Babcock’s accounts, including creating a false record of documents reviewed for a sensitive government contract.’
The Guardian, 8th March 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
PwC fined nearly £1.8m over BT fraud audit failures – The Guardian
‘PwC has been fined almost £1.8m for failing to properly scrutinise the accounts of telecoms company BT after a £500m accounting fraud had been uncovered at its Italian operation.’
The Guardian, 8th August 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
KPMG fined £4.3m for ‘serious failings’ in Conviviality audit – The Guardian
‘The accounting regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), found “a serious lack of competence” in KPMG’s 2017 audit of the company, which collapsed within nine months of the accounts being signed off.’
The Guardian, 19th January 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
UKHSA considers legal action against privately run Immensa lab – The Guardian
‘A government health watchdog is considering legal action against a private health company whose laboratory gave at least 43,000 people potentially false negative Covid-19 test results.’
The Guardian, 8th December 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Patisserie Valerie auditors fined £2.3m over ‘serious lack of competence’ – The Guardian
‘The auditor of Patisserie Valerie has been fined £2.3m and accused of a “serious lack of competence” over its role in the accounting scandal that led to the collapse of the cafe chain.’
The Guardian, 27th September 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Professional advisers beware – check the terms of your engagement – Practical Law: Construction Blog
‘The scope of duty and the extent of liability of professional advisers are two hotly contested issues at the core of many a dispute between professional advisers and their clients in negligence claims.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 24th August 2021
Supreme Court clarifies duty test in Grant Thornton ruling – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The Supreme Court has backed a building society’s claim against its former auditor, in a ruling that provides a “more generous” test for the duty of care owed by professional advisers.’
Law Society's Gazette, 18th June 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Antiquated process’: data regulator on obtaining Cambridge Analytica warrant – The Guardian
‘The information commissioner has criticised the “antiquated process” that led to Facebook getting hold of Cambridge Analytica’s servers before the UK regulator itself, and renewed calls for an international approach to data privacy to tackle the emerging threat of data havens.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Assetco v GT: A chink in SAAMCo’s armour? And a lost chance to sort out loss of a chance? – Hardwicke Chambers
‘The recent decision of Assetco Plc v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 1151, in which judgment was handed down at the end of August, is well worth professional liability lawyers paying attention to whether they are predominantly claimant practitioners, defendant ones or, like me, act for either side. It is a useful illustration of the application of the SAAMCo principle/doctrine (and also contains an interesting, if not entirely novel, analysis regarding loss of a chance).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 5th November 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
Covid spending: Watchdog finds MPs’ contacts were given priority – BBC News
‘Companies recommended by MPs, peers and ministers’ offices were given priority as the government raced to obtain Personal Protective Equipment, the National Audit Office found.’
BBC News, 18th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
UK accounting firms criticised by watchdog for ‘unacceptable’ work – The Guardian
‘The accounting watchdog has hit out at the UK’s largest auditors, after its annual inspection uncovered an “unacceptable” number of poorly executed company audits.’
The Guardian, 14th July 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Commercial Court dislikes pre-action disclosure in prof neg claims: even in mega-auditor’s negligence action – Hailsham Chambers
‘In Carillion v KPMG, the liquidators of this once substantial company sought pre-action disclosure from its former auditors. They intend to bring professional negligence proceedings for not detecting that the financial statements were unreliable. The Commercial Court refused the application. One might think that given auditors’ negligence claims in large part turn on professional judgment as to the audit procedures performed, the evidence obtained and the conclusions drawn, clear sight of the materials produced and relied on by the auditors would enable better focussed pleadings. Nonetheless the Commercial Court refused the application (which had admittedly spun into a substantial hearing with apparently more than £500,000 costs on each side). It pointed out that generally such applications were unlikely to succeed in Commercial Court cases and on the facts was not appropriate. The Judge seems to have been most impressed by the fact that Carillion had been able to articulate a detailed case in negligence already, rendering pre-action disclosure perhaps redundant and likely to be duplicated when it came to conventional disclosure.’
Hailsham Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.hailshamchambers.com
Spending watchdog warns public bodies on challenge of managing end of PFI contracts as disputes loom – Local Government Lawyer
‘More than a third of public bodies expect to have formal disputes as PFI contracts come to an end, the National Audit Office has found.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Data watchdog relaxes regulatory function to prioritise guidance on complying with law during coronavirus public health emergency – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will stand down audit work, issue fewer fines and generally use fewer formal powers against organisations that are struggling to meet data protection standards as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.’
Local Government Lawyer, 22nd May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
A new code of audit practice – Law Society’s Gazette
‘‘Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote/ The droghte of March hath perced to the roote’. So, in 1387, opened the prologue to Canterbury Tales. But if April inspired Chaucer’s characters to begin their famous pilgrimage, local authority lawyers and auditors will soon also find a new spring in their steps. For on 1 April 2020 there will be a new Code of Audit Practice.’
Law Society's Gazette, 23rd March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Audit firms face review by watchdog over climate risk exposure – The Guardian
‘The UK’s accounting watchdog has launched a major review into whether companies and their auditors are adequately reflecting the financial risks of the climate crisis in their accounts.’
The Guadian, 20th February 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
MPs announce inquiry into Thomas Cook collapse – The Guardian
‘MPs are to hold an inquiry into the role of “corporate greed” in the collapse of Thomas Cook, focusing on directors’ stewardship of the company, how much they were paid and how its accounts were prepared and signed off by auditors.’
The Guardian, 26th September 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
