The UK’s Financial Reporting Council has fined accountant KPMG 2,225,000 GBP in connection with its botched auditing of M & C Saatchi’s accounts for 2018.  

Among other flubs, KPMG let the agency improperly inflate its revenue by 1,200,000 GBP. The Council also found that M & C Saatchi retained rebates under a media contract that should have been returned to the client and that KPMG should have indicated to the agency more forcefully that keeping the rebate was improper.  

The agency ended up restating full year 2018 results the following year and a number of executives were forced out including co-founder Maurice Saatchi.  

The fine was reduced to 1,462, 500 GBP for what the governing body called “admissions and early disposal.” 

The FRC also indicated that KPMG has taken internal measures that “reduce the risk of the failings identified during the M&C Saatchi audit from recurring.” 

KPMG’s Adrian Wilcox, the partner on the M&C Saatchi account was also fined 75,000 GBP. But given his cooperation, the sanction was reduced to 48, 750 GBP.