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A former auditor at BDO has been given a 20-year ban by the regulator for faking electronic signatures and evidence and filing false company accounts.
The Financial Reporting Council, which oversees the UK accountancy profession, said Amanda Nightingale had “acted with sustained dishonesty over a five-year period in relation to a large number of audits” in her role as a senior manager at BDO’s Gatwick office.
The regulator said it had also issued “proposed formal complaints” against BDO and two of its former partners in August, alleging misconduct as part of its wider investigation into how Nightingale was able to carry out such “extremely serious” actions for so long.
Jamie Symington, FRC deputy executive counsel, said: “By deliberately signing audit reports without the relevant audit engagement partners’ knowledge, Nightingale’s conduct has risked severely undermining confidence in the audit profession and BDO.”
The findings are another blow for BDO, the world’s fifth-largest accountant, which was recently criticised by authorities in both the US and UK for having unacceptably high levels of errors in its audits of companies.
The FRC said: “On numerous occasions between 2015 and 2019, the conduct of Nightingale fell significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected . . . and has brought, or is likely to bring, discredit to herself, BDO and to the accountancy profession.”
The regulator said Nightingale, who was unavailable for comment, had been banned from doing any accountancy work and excluded from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for 20 years.
BDO said its partners discovered Nightingale was “operating without proper authority” five years ago. When confronted, she “left the firm before her impending dismissal for gross misconduct” and the firm then reported its findings to the FRC and conducted an internal probe that reported to regulators and senior managers in February 2021.
The FRC said Nightingale had “caused or permitted auditor’s reports to be issued without approval” including by “inserting electronic copies” of other people’s signatures. It said she also filed accounts at Companies House without authorisation and using faked signatures, created false documents, falsified audit evidence and deceived colleagues and clients.
But it said there were mitigating factors: she was under extra strain due to a seriously ill family member, she did not gain financially from her misconduct — apart from it helping her to keep her job — and she has apologised for her actions.
As a result, and having “taken into account her financial circumstances”, it decided not to fine Nightingale, who paid £10,000 towards its costs.