Deloitte is reportedly under investigation over its auditing of Essar Oil UK, the owner of the Stanlow oil refinery.
According to the Financial Times, the investigation was prompted by a complaint in August. It said the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has begun looking into whether Deloitte should have raised its concerns about Essar Oil UK’s governance earlier than it did.
Deloitte resigned as auditor in October 2020, citing governance concerns affecting Essar Oil UK’s audit strategy. However, it did not raise such concerns three months earlier when it signed off the accounts for the 18 months to September 2019.
The investigation is the latest UK audit inquiry into Deloitte, which was fined a record £15m last year for serious misconduct in its audit of software group Autonomy. Deloitte is also the subject of separate investigations over its audits of outsourcer Mitie and building materials group SIG.
The FT said the ICAEW is also examining whether the auditor breached a statutory deadline for publicly filing reasons for its resignation at Companies House. In addition, it is scrutinising how the accounting firm dated documents when it did file them almost six months after it resigned.
