UK Auditors Failed to Sound Alarms in 75% of Corporate Collapses

UK auditors have failed to raise the alarm before three quarters of the largest corporate collapses since 2010, according to a new report that questioned whether the firms hired to vet financial statements were performing one of their core functions.

Auditors failed to give so-called going concern warnings for 75% of the 250 stock exchange listed companies registered in the UK that collapsed between 2010 and 2022, the Audit Reform Lab, a research body at Sheffield University, said in a report Monday. Under UK regulations, auditors must give a going concern warning if they think there’s a danger the ...