Manchester Building Society launches £49m lawsuit against Grant Thornton
Mutual lender files claim against Grant Thornton for 'breach of contract, negligence and breach of statutory services'
MACHESTER BUILDING SOCIETY has filed a £49m lawsuit against Grant Thornton over claims the firm was negligent when auditing its accounts between 2006 and 2013.
The mutual lender said it had filed the claim for “breach of contract, negligence and breach of statutory services” relating to audit services provided by Grant Thornton between 2006 and 20013, at which point Grant Thornton resigned as the society’s auditors.
“The claim primarily covers Grant Thornton’s advice and audit services relating to the implementation and application of hedge accounting by the society,” the building society said.
A spokesperson for Grant Thornton said: “As a large professional services firm, there are inevitably occasions where we become involved in legal claims. Naturally, our obligations of confidentiality mean that we cannot comment on the detail of any litigation in which the firm is involved.”
The claim relates to an accounting problem currently being investigated by the profession’s watchdog, the FRC. The probe was launched in August last year after the FRC said it would scrutinise Grant Thornton’s auditing of interest rate swap arrangements which gave rise to a prior period adjustment in the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2012.