Grant Thornton fined over auditing of collapsed Bargain Booze owner

Accountancy giant Grant Thornton has been fined £3m, discounted to £1.95m for admissions, by the industry watchdog for failures and loss of independence in its auditing of collapsed Bargain Booze owner Conviviality.
By Ismail Mulla
Published 8th Jul 2020, 08:18 BST
Updated 8th Jul 2020, 08:22 BST
Grant Thornton has been fined over its auditing of collapsed Bargain Booze owner Conviviality.Grant Thornton has been fined over its auditing of collapsed Bargain Booze owner Conviviality.
Grant Thornton has been fined over its auditing of collapsed Bargain Booze owner Conviviality.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said Grant Thornton had admitted breaching "very important" ethical standards and requirements between 2014 and 2017 to ensure the independence of its audit.

The FRC said the failures were "repeated and prolonged" and saw "numerous breaches".

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The watchdog has also reprimanded former Grant Thornton senior manager Natasha Toy and the firm's former audit engagement partner Kevin Engel.

Claudia Mortimore, deputy executive counsel at the FRC, said: "It is vital that audit firms comply with ethical standards and requirements and create the necessary culture and control environment so that their people really understand their importance.

"In this case, there were firm-wide failures over a number of years which not only led to numerous breaches of such requirements on individual audits but also the real risk of more such breaches which have not been, and will never be, reported or identified.

"The sanctions in this matter not only send a clear message as to how seriously the FRC views such failures but are also focused on ensuring that there is no repetition and the causes of the failures are effectively addressed at their roots."

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