Watchdog drops probe into PWC and Tesco affair

The UK accountancy watchdog has pulled its probe into the role of PWC as Tesco’s auditor during the supermarket giant’s accounting scandal.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the inquiry into PWC and certain members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales had closed because there was “not a realistic prospect” any tribunal would make an adverse finding.

PWC was Tesco’s auditor when it was discovered that Britain’s largest food retailer had inflated profits by £263 million in 2014, an action that the Financial Conduct Authority deemed as market abuse earlier this year.

Tesco ditched PWC as auditor in 2015.