Accounting giant KPMG has been fined £20 million after senior partners and managers cheated on exams
KPMG’s Dutch division was fined £20 million after it was found that hundreds of employees had given shared answers during training
Accounting giant KPMG was handed the largest fine ever handed out by the US audit watchdog after senior partners and managers cheated on professional exams.
The Big Four’s Dutch division was fined £20 million after hundreds of employees were found to have inappropriately shared answers during mandatory training between 2017 and 2022.
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which issued the fine, also said KPMG Netherlands had repeatedly misled investigators about the misconduct.
“The growth of this widespread sharing of responses was enabled by the company’s failure to take appropriate steps to monitor, investigate and identify the potential misconduct,” the regulator said.
Staff singled out by the US audit watchdog included Marc Hogeboom, former head of the Dutch firm, who was fined £120,000.
He was also banned for life from working for a company that controls U.S. public companies.
Both Hogeboom and KPMG Netherlands have agreed to pay their respective fines without admitting or denying the findings.
Stephanie Hottenhuis, CEO of KPMG Netherlands, called the regulator’s conclusions ‘devastating’.
She said: “I deeply regret that this misconduct has occurred in our company. Our customers and stakeholders deserve our apology. They count on our quality and integrity, because this is our role in society, with trust as our ‘license to operate’.
KPMG Netherlands has taken measures to check whether the training tests are running smoothly, Hottenhuis said.