KPMG delayed

Publication of KPMG’s annual accounts are expected to be delayed for over a month following the collapse of merger talks with Ernst & Young, writes Phillip Inman.

The firm was due to release its figures at the end of January, but they are now unlikely to be released until next month. Insiders said the frantic struggle to provide information to the European competition authorities had led to the delay.

‘It’s always hectic trying to get our results together. This time there were too many partners with their eye off the ball,’ an insider said.

KPMG was the first major accountancy firm to produce plc-style accounts and last year it was the first firm to have its figures audited. The delay could prove embarrassing for the firm that has long claimed to be more open to scrutiny than its rivals.

A spokesman for KPMG denied the firm’s auditors, Grant Thornton, had found it difficult obtaining detailed financial information.