Ukraine central bank removes PwC’s bank auditing rights

Ukraine central bank removes PwC’s bank auditing rights

The National Bank of Ukraine came to this decision following PwC's failure to identify improper activities of PrivatBank

Ukraine’s central bank has removed PwC from the register of accounting firms authorised to audit banks, in effect from 20 July.

The decision was made upon the recommendation of the Committee on the Audit of Ukrainian Banks.

A statement released by The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) stated that PwC had verified “misrepresented financial information in the financial statements of CB PRIVATBANK PJSC.”

The Big 4 firm’s failure to identify improper activities led to a $5.5.bn hole in the balance-sheet of PrivatBank.

The NBU pointed to the firm’s failure “to highlight the credit risk exposure faced by PRIVATBANK PJSC, which led to the bank being declared insolvent and nationalized, with substantial recapitalization costs borne by the state.”

PrivatBank, Ukraine’s biggest commercial bank, was audited by PwC from the 1990s until last year when it was nationalised, following claims of its “imprudent” lending policy.

PwC commented that they were “very disappointed” by the decision and will “examine all options for reversing this decision”.

The news follows a tough period for PwC, as recently the FRC launched an investigation into it’s audits of BT Italia.

This is despite the fact that PwC topped the list of best quality audits out of the top 6 firms.

PwC have also recently appointed 52 new partners.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

Professional Services Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

Accounting Firms Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

Making Tax Digital Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource