MPs attack the KPMG probe delay

THE accounting watchdog has been attacked by a senior MP for the ‘shocking delay’ before it launched a probe into kPMG over the collapse of banking giant HBOS.

The Financial reporting Council decided in 2013 not to investigate auditor kPMG over accusations it failed to vet HBOS’s accounts properly before its downfall in 2008.

It changed its mind following intense pressure from the Treasury committee, agreeing in December to launch preliminary enquiries.

The row was triggered by a damning report into the demise of HBOS which was published by regulators in november but did not cover kPMG’s role in the debacle.

Yesterday the Treasury committee published a tense exchange of letters between its chairman, Andrew Tyrie MP, and Stephen Haddrill, the boss of the FrC.

Tyrie said last night: ‘The HBOS report exposed the staggeringly poor quality of HBOS’s loan book.

‘I have written to the FrC to seek assurances about the scope, independence and rigour of these enquiries. Given the shocking delay in initiating the work, a less than thorough job would be inexcusable.’

A full probe into kPMG is likely to increase scrutiny on the Financial Conduct Authority’s chairman John Griffith- Jones. The watchdog boss was chairman of kPMG when it vetted HBOS’s accounts.