The UK’s accountancy watchdog has fined PwC £6.5m, reduced to £4.55m, over the audit of Redcentric plc, the cloud computing firm.
The FRC also issued PwC with a severe reprimand, and insisted that the firm supplement the monitoring and support of the Leeds Office audit practice.
Two partners Jaskamal Sarai and Arif Ahmad were also both fine £140,000 each and severely reprimanded.
The FRC’s deputy executive counsel, Claudia Mortimore, said: “The sanctions reflect the seriousness and extent of the breaches. Professional scepticism was lacking in this audit. Had it been applied, it is likely that certain material misstatements would have been detected. As this is the second Final Decision Notice involving PwC Leeds’ office in recent years, we have mandated that the firm supplements its ongoing monitoring and support for that office, to further improve the quality of audit work in the future.”
