PwC partners land £712,000 each after string of scandals

MORE than 900 UK partners at PwC were paid an average £712,000 last year.

The pay-outs increased by 9pc on the previous year despite the accountant being hit by record fines for poor work, including £10m for its handling of collapsed department store BHS’s audit.

The UK wing of the business made profits of £935m on revenues of £3.8bn, driven by a surge in deals and tax advice.

The accounting sector is in crisis following a string of scandals that have spurred calls for a break-up of the so-called Big Four: PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY. However, Kevin Ellis, PwC chairman, insisted a break-up was not the answer.

‘We’re up for change and we’re up for more choice in the audit market but breaking up the Big Four firms does not improve quality,’ he said.

‘There is no silver bullet. We need to think through changes that create choice but do not damage quality.’

PwC was fined £1.5m last August for its audit of professional services firm RSM Tenon. KPMG has been fined £5.4m over its work for Quindell, and is being probed over its work at bust builder Carillion.