PwC's $5.8 mn UK fine strengthens demand to break up Big Four audit firms

This latest transgression adds to the scrutiny of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, EY and KPMG, which together control more than 90% of UK audits for large companies

PricewaterhouseCoopers was fined 4.55 million pounds ($5.8 million) by the U.K.’s accounting watchdog over failings in its handling of technology firm Redcentric Plc, giving fresh ammunition to critics calling for a breakup of the so-called Big Four auditing firms.

The penalty was reduced from 6.5 million pounds after the company admitted its wrongdoing ahead of a final decision by the Financial Reporting Council. Two PwC partners, Jaskamal Sarai and Arif Ahmad, were each fined a reduced 140,000 pounds after admitting breaches in the standards of their work, and were also given a “severe reprimand.”

The breaches were “numerous and in certain cases