Auditor KPMG is under investigation by the UK’s Financial Reporting Council regarding Entain’s 2022 financial year accounts. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is investigating accounting firm KPMG over its audit of gambling group Entain. The enforcement division, which will complete the probe, didn’t reveal any specifics of the case, just that it relates to the financial year ending December 31, 2022.

has been the auditor for the Ladbrokes owner since 2018

A spokesperson for KPMG UK confirmed it will fully cooperate with the investigators and hopes to close the matter as quickly as possible. It has been the auditor for the Ladbrokes owner since 2018 and was recently in hot water for several other issues.

The FRC issued a record £33.2m ($41m) in fines to auditors in 2023; KPMG was involved in about 80% of the cases. The biggest of these penalties was £21m ($26m) for failures in the three years before the collapse of former contractor Carillion.

Entain is hoping the investigation doesn’t reveal any issues. In 2023, it allocated £585m ($719m) for a settlement following an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) inquiry into historic bribery offenses in the company’s Turkish unit.