Watchdog’s hiring spree

A CITY watchdog has hired extra enforcement staff after facing criticism for the way it handled a string of scandals.

The Financial Reporting Council’s discipline unit has 30 staff, up from fewer than ten five years ago.

The unit is meant to discipline accountants when they fail to spot serious mistakes or get too close to their clients. But bosses were slammed earlier this year for dropping a probe into KPMG over the clean bill of health it gave to HBOS in 2007, before it almost collapsed during the financial crisis.

The FRC said the hiring spree showed a commitment to taking action.