Big Four accounting giant KPMG shrugs off audit scandal fines as partner pay hits £757,000

KPMG’S UK partners saw their pay rise to an average of £757,000 last year despite a series of multi-million pound fines for audit failures.

The Big Four accounting giant was castigated by regulators over its role in checking the books of Carillion and Rolls-Royce but overall trading was boosted by fees for advising on mergers and shake-ups.

Revenues for the year to September rose 16 per cent to £2.7billion, though profits were only up by 3 per cent to £449million as higher costs and fines took a bite out of the bottom line.

Pay for the firm’s 786 partners increased from £688,000 a year earlier. The wage bill for its 16,000 staff rose by £132million to £1.14billion after increases of between £2,000 and £4,000 were handed to staff in May.

UK chief executive Jon Holt was paid £2.7million in his first full year at the firm.

KPMG’s lucrative consulting work led its growth over the year, with fees up 22 per cent to £811million, thanks to demand for ‘digital transformation’ as companies change the way they work in the wake of the pandemic.

Fees for advice on merger and acquisitions, in a booming deals market, rose 24 per cent to £443million.

Revenues at the firm’s traditional auditing practice climbed more slowly, by 10 per cent, to £695million.

But it also delivered major headaches after being penalised by the Financial Reporting Council for a series of failures.

In July, the FRC fined KPMG £14.4million after it admitted to providing false and misleading information during spot checks on audits of Carillion – the construction firm that later collapsed – and outsourcing business Regenersis.

KPMG was also fined a combined £7.5million during the year over failings related to its audits of engine maker Rolls-Royce, drinks firm Conviviality and Revolution Bars.

The auditing group increased the size of its provision for future fines and legal claims from £144million to £179million.