In the last year, the amount of fines issued by the Financial Reporting Council was down by £5.5m from £46.5m in 2021/22 to £40.5m in 2022/23. Individual audit partners were fined £1m, from £1.1m in 2022. In 2020/21, the regulator only issued fines of £16.7m. 

Only 12 cases were resolved, compared with 15 in the previous year, although the regulator has reduced the backlog.  

The highest fine of £20m was given to KPMG, the largest sanction ever issued by the regulator, for its audits of Carillion plc and Regenersis plc.

PwC was handed a £7.5m sanction, reduced to £5.6m following a settlement discount, for its audit of Babcock International Group plc and Devonport Royal Dockyard Limited.