Deloitte fined £6.05 million in UK over audits of transport operator Go-Ahead Group

Accounting firm ​Deloitte has been fined £6.05 ‌million ($7.98 million) ​over its audits of transport operator Go-Ahead Group for the financial years between ‌2016 and 2020, Britain's Financial Reporting Council said on Thursday.

The FRC said the financial penalty had been reduced from £11 million due ‌to Deloitte's "exceptional cooperation" and admissions. Deloitte did not immediately ‌respond to a request for comment. Deloitte's fine relates to overpayments made by Britain's Department for Transport to one of Go-Ahead Group's subsidiaries, London & South ⁠Eastern ​Railway, under a ⁠rail franchise agreement before Deloitte became auditor.

LSER retained the money and ⁠did not tell the Department of Transport, which eventually became aware ​in 2021 and took action to recover the overpayments. The FRC ⁠said Deloitte had "failed to challenge the wrongful retention by (Go-Ahead Group) of over £30 ⁠million ​of public money for an extended period".

Penrose Foss, the FRC's Executive Director of investigations and Enforcement, said in ⁠a statement: "These breaches show a highly concerning pattern of failure by ⁠Deloitte ⁠to apply sufficient scrutiny to decisions and actions by (Go-Ahead Group) which were clearly questionable." ($1 = 0.7578 pounds)