KPMG restarts UK government contract bids
KPMG has restarted competing for UK government contracts, after the Big Four accounting firm withdrew from public sector tenders last December, following a series of high-profile accounting scandals.
The Big Four accountancy firm re-commenced bidding for UK public sector contracts in early-June, after it pulled out of competing for lucrative UK government contracts at the end of last year.
KPMG’s withdrawal last December came after the Cabinet Office threatened to ban the Big Four accounting firm from working on government contracts, after launching a review into the firm.
The Cabinet Office’s letter came after the UK’s accounting watchdog last August fined the firm £13m over misconduct in its work with bedmaker Silentnight, that allegedly saw the firm push Silentnight towards insolvency, in its efforts to benefit private equity firm HIG.
The accounting firm’s decision to restart competing for government contracts comes as KPMG has faced a series of major fines over the previous year.
In July, the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) fined KPMG a record £14.4m for misleading the watchdog’s investigators during spot inspections of its work.
KPMG UK chief executive Jon Holt, who took up his role as head of the accounting firm in April 2021, said: “I have been clear since coming into my role as Chief Executive that it is my personal priority to deal with our legacy issues, take action and learn from them.”
“I am grateful to the Cabinet Office for their rigorous assessment of the steps we’ve taken, and continue to take, across all aspects of our business, controls and conduct to build a stronger and more sustainable firm.”
“We will continue to engage with the Cabinet Office closely and transparently on the implementation of our ongoing improvement plans, and we are pleased to return as a strategic supplier to support the work of Government.”