TUC tackles Big Four over PFI deals
The Trades Union Congress has demanded a full investigation into the conflicting roles of Big Four firms in public finance deals.
Link: Unions target Big Four over PFI deals
At last week’s TUC conference, delegates voted in favour of the demand, which called on the Congress to launch an enquiry into how Big Four firms were simultaneously advising the government on PFI deals while auditing companies that were bidding for the very same deals.
Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, told the conference: ‘We live in a brave New Labour world where the Big Four accountancy firms involved in PFI schemes worth billions, make millions from their consultancy work advising government, advising the consortium bidders and auditing bids.’
Prentis described the relationship between the government and private sector advisers as ‘a web of deceit bordering on corruption’.
In a recent report on the role of the Big Four in PFI deals, Unison found 45 cases where a firm that acted as financial adviser to the public sector was also auditor of at least one member of the successful consortium.