Norwegian KPMG cleared as partner sentenced
Norwegian partner gets 30-day jail sentence but firm as a whole is not held responsible
An
Oslo
court has ruled that KPMG’s Norwegian group could not be held responsible
for the negligence of an auditor in its employ, just as one of its partners was
sentenced in the case.
John Haukland, 57, a partner in the firm, was sentenced to 30 days in jail
yesterday for negligent accounting in one of the country’s worst bankruptcies,
while the Norwegian branch of the firm was acquitted.
Haukland was auditor of the books of the Finance Credit collection agency in
the years ahead of it going bankrupt in 2003, with about $242 million (£125m) in
debt to eight banks.
The Oslo District Court said Haukland and his team approved inaccurate annual
accounts from Finance Credit, and as early as 2000 should have seen that figures
were exaggerated in its books. The firm is part of the KPMG International
network of independent firms.
Further reading
KPMG tax shelter case postponed
‘indefinitely’
KPMG and ex-partners square off in US
‘Improper’ pressure heaped on ex-KPMG
partners