KPMG reaches settlement with liquidator of Carillion (updated)

Carillion

17/02/2023 15:26

(Adds more detail)
       LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - KPMG said on Friday it has
reached a confidential settlement agreement with the liquidator
of Carillion, the builder it audited before it collapsed.
    Carillion collapsed in 2018 under 7 billion pounds ($8.40
billion) of debt, with thousands of jobs lost, leading to
government-backed reviews which recommended a shake-up in
auditing standards.
    Liquidators of Carillion last year sued KPMG for 1.3 billion
pounds for missing "red flags" during its audits of the
construction giant.
    Britain's Official Receiver, part of the Insolvency Service,
which is liquidating the former blue-chip group, alleged that
negligent failures by KPMG to detect misstatements in the
accounts of Carillion cost claimants' extensive loss and damage.
    KPMG said at the time it believed the lawsuit was without
merit.
    "I am pleased that we have been able to resolve this claim.
Carillion was an extreme and serious corporate failure, and it
is important that we all learn the lessons from its collapse,"
KPMG's UK chief executive Jon Holt said in a statement.
    Britain's auditing watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council
(FRC) has yet to announce the outcome of its investigation in
KPMG's audits of Carillion.
    Holt said the FRC’s ongoing investigation is an important
part of learning lessons from Carillion's collapse and "we will
continue to cooperate fully with it".
($1 = 0.8335 pounds)
 (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jane
Merriman)
 ((huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 3326; Reuters
Messaging: huw.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))