The UK Financial Reporting Council fined Deloitte £6.0 million for highly
concerning, sustained failings in its audits of rail operator Go-Ahead over a
five-year period. The FRC said Deloitte did not adequately scrutinise relevant
decisions and conduct during consecutive audits. The investigation followed
Go-Ahead’s 2020 crisis; in 2021 the government found the group failed to return
tens of millions of pounds of taxpayer funds, revoked its Southeastern franchise
and later fined Go-Ahead £23.5 million after concluding the company retained the
funds and progressively recognized them as profit without notifying the
government. FRC executive director Penrose Fawkes said the breaches demonstrated
Deloitte’s sustained failures in exercising appropriate oversight.
