KPMG’s Audit Quality Shrouded by Redacted Inspections Report (1)

In an unusual step, the US audit regulator didn’t release KPMG LLP’s full inspection findings for 2022, instead issuing a partially redacted report among the results of the 14 busiest US audit firms.

KPMG’s report shows that the firm had 15 audits that didn’t meet basic standards plus one that was redacted out of 54 audits the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reviewed as part of its inspection. That’s a slight increase from the 14 KPMG audits with violations the board reported the prior year.

The rate of flawed audits climbed not only at KPMG but among the firm’s largest ...