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 penalty had been reduced from £11 million due to Deloitte's "exceptional cooperation" and admissions. "We regret that ‌aspects of our audit work did not meet the standards expected ‌and have learned from this matter," a Deloitte spokesperson said. "We are committed to continuous improvement and the delivery of high quality audits."

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)