UK Watchdog Fines Crowe Over ‘Unsatisfactory’ Property Audit

The UK’s accounting watchdog on Tuesday fined a mid-sized firm more than £140,000 ($176,000) for a flawed audit of a property company, highlighting concerns over smaller firms’ audit quality.

The Financial Reporting Council said it had originally planned to fine Crowe UK £180,000 over its audit of Jersey-based Aseana Properties Limited for fiscal year 2019, but cut the penalty to £144,000 after Crowe cooperated with investigators. The watchdog found problems with Crowe’s auditing of inventory and fraud risk, as well as the use of auditor judgment.

The FRC published its review of audits done by smaller UK firms including Crowe ...