Watchdog drops Pwcbarclays investigation

Britain’s accountancy watchdog has dropped an investigation into Pwc’s role as auditor to Barclays.

The Financial Reporting Council had been probing Pwc’s role in reporting to the then Financial Services Authority over Barclays’ compliance with client asset rules between 2007 and 2011.

However, it said yesterday that it is closing the probe after concluding that “there is not a realistic prospect” that a tri- bunal would make an adverse finding against PWC “in respect of the matters within the scope of the investigation”.

It is not the first time this year that PWC has come under the FRC’S microscope. In June, it dropped an investigation into Pwc’s role as Tesco’s auditor during the group’s accounting scandal, on the same grounds that there would be no realistic prospect of a tribunal making an adverse finding.

The watchdog also opened an investigation into Pwc’s audit of BT following its Italian accounting scandal.