Skip to content

9 July, 2025

  • Saved Articles
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Log Out

Board Agenda

  • Governance
  • Strategy
  • Risk
  • Ethics
  • News
  • Insight
    • Categories

      • View all
      • Governance
      • Strategy
      • Risk
      • Ethics
      • Board Expertise
      • finance
      • Technology
    • EU sustainability

      Omnibus package must not undermine EU sustainability

      Now is the time for Europe to speed up green transition, rather than slow it...

    • high pay

      Pay gap transparency needs to be better

      It’s not unknown for a CEO to earn 500 times as much the median employee,...

    • executive pay

      Executive pay trends in 2025

      Opposition to remuneration reports has grown sharply, according to Georgeson’s analysis of voting outcomes in...

  • Comment
      • View all
    • EU sustainability

      Omnibus package must not undermine EU sustainability

      Now is the time for Europe to speed up green transition, rather than slow it...

    • high pay Pay gap transparency needs to be better

      It’s not unknown for a CEO to earn 500 times as much the median employee,...

    • future-proof governance levers How to future-proof your business

      For boards to bolster resilience and create value in a polycrisis, a combination of hard...

  • Interviews
      • View All Interviews
      • Podcasts
      • Webinars
    • UK Corporate Governance Code Board meetings ‘are not up to scratch’

      Nearly three-quarters of board members believe the board’s performance in meetings needs improvement, an expert...

    • financial sanctions Tariffs chaos drives boardroom focus on resilience

      Business leaders will prioritise the resilience of their organisations in the face of economic upheaval...

    • supply chain oversight Act now on supply chain oversight, boards warned

      Board directors need to critically engage with the business’s supply chain activity, a panel of...

  • Board Careers
  • Resource Centre
      • White Paper Downloads
      • Book Reviews
      • Board Advisory & Corporate Services
    • C-suite barometer: outlook 2025 – UK insights

      Forvis Mazars draws UK insights from its global study and looks at UK executives’ strategic...

    • Talent Management 2025 Mind Gym

      Talent Management in 2025

      From rethinking leadership to wrestling with AI, MindGym's report reveals the trends shaping talent strategies...

    • Korn Ferry CHRO 2025 (Copy)

      On The Highwire: Being a CHRO in 2025

      Korn Ferry surveyed 750 senior HR leaders (including 450 CHROs) to understand their key priorities...

  • Events
  • Search by topic
    • Governance
    • Strategy
    • Risk
    • Ethics
    • Regulation
    • ESG
    • Investor Relations
    • Careers
    • Board Expertise
    • finance
    • Technology

PwC pays £2.3m fine over Cattles audit

by Gavin Hinks on September 1, 2016

Big Four audit firm fined over work on the 2007 accounts of subprime lender.

PwC, pricewaterhousecoopers

Big Four audit firm PwC has been fined £3.5m, reduced to £2.3m after mitigation, for its audit in 2007 of subprime lender Cattles and its subsidiary Welcome Finance.

Simon Bradburn, the PwC partner working on the audit, was fined £120,000, cut to £75,600 following mitigation, and received a “severe reprimand” from the Financial Reporting Council, the UK’s disciplinary body for auditors.

PwC paid £750,000 towards costs.

Cattles brought a lawsuit against PwC alleging negligence over the audit but reached a settlement in October last year.

Gareth Rees QC, executive counsel to the FRC, said: “The substantial fines imposed in this case reflect the seriousness of the audit failings in relation to the critical area of impairment provisioning in a subprime lender and will send a strong signal to the audit community of the importance of upholding high standards of professional conduct in audit work.

“I welcome PwC’s and Mr Bradburn’s constructive approach, which has enabled us to reach this settlement. The admissions of Misconduct have resulted in a significant saving in time and costs and the fines ultimately imposed have been reduced accordingly.”

The ruling from the FRC said: “PwC and Mr Bradburn have admitted that their conduct fell significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected of a Member Firm and a Member respectively in issuing unqualified audit opinions in respect of the 2007 Cattles and Welcome financial statements in circumstances where PwC (i) had insufficient audit evidence as to the adequacy of the loan loss provision and (ii) had failed to identify the fact that the impairment policy was not adequately disclosed and that the disclosures in those financial statements were not in compliance with IFRS 7.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail

Related Posts

  • Campaigners urge FRC to name and shame failing audits
    October 5, 2021
    Businessman looking at audit figures

    Transparency groups including Greenpeace UK say failing to disclose the audits involved "risks creating a general lack of confidence in all audit opinions".

  • FRC unveils new audit committee standards
    November 10, 2022
    audit committee standards

    Watchdog’s guidance to audit committees aims at expanding choice and addressing competition within the audit market.

  • Jan du Plessis gives first insights into FRC governance and audit reform
    January 27, 2022
    BT chair Jan du Plessis

    The prospective FRC chair acknowledged that the watchdog's own governance needs reform, and that audit scandals have damaged its reputation.

  • FRC chief's comments spark debate over audit market cap
    October 19, 2021
    Big Four, Deloitte, KPMG, EY, PwC

    Discussions about the merits of an audit market share cap have intensified after remarks made by Sir Jon Thompson last week.

Search


Follow Us

Register Free

Stay in the know! Register to access the latest governance news; plus receive updates about our events and podcasts – Sign up here

 

Most Popular

Featured Resources

wef global risks 2025

The Global Risks Report 2025

The 20th edition of the Global Risks Report reveals an increasingly fractured global...
Supply chain management cover

Strategic Oversight in Supply Chain Management: A Guide for Corporate Boards 2025

Supply chains have become complex, interdependent and opaque and—according to research...
OB-Cyber-Security

Cyber Security: What Boards Need to Know

Maintaining firewalls, protecting servers and filtering malicious emails rarely make...

The IA’S Principles Of Remuneration 2024 2025

This guidance from the Investment Association is aimed at assisting remuneration...
Diligent 2024 leadership tech cover

Leadership, decision-making & the role of technology: Business survey 2024

This research report by Board Agenda and Diligent sheds light on how board directors...

Director Reference Guide: Navigating Conflict in the Boardroom

The 'Director Reference Guide' on navigating conflict in the boardroom provides practical...
Nasdaq 2024 governance report cover

Nasdaq 2024 Global Governance Pulse

This Nasdaq survey gathered data from more than 870 board members, executives, and...

Becoming a non-executive director (4th edition)

Board composition is the subject of much debate, while the role of the non-executive...
art & science brainloop new cover

The Art & Science of Creating an Effective Board

Boards are coming under more scrutiny and pressure than ever before from regulators,...
SAA First time NED guide

First Time Guide for Non-Executive Directors

The role of the non-executive director has never been more vital: to advise, support,...

Register Free

Stay in the know! Register to access the latest governance news; plus receive updates about our events and podcasts. Register


  • Editors & Contributors
  • Editorial Advisory Board
  • Board Advisory & Corporate Services
  • Media Marketing Solutions
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Board Director Network
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
|

Copyright © 2025 Questor Media Group Ltd.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap