BT's Italian Accounting Issues Probed by UK Reporting Regulator

By Razak Musah Baba

LONDON--The Financial Reporting Council is investigating audits by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP of BT Group PLC's (BT.A.LN) accounts, in relation to accounting issues in BT's Italian operations.

Last October, BT announced an internal investigation into its Italian business. The U.K.-based telecommunications and TV provider said that the investigation, which included an independent review by auditing firm KPMG LLP, found that "the extent and complexity of inappropriate behavior in the Italian business were far greater than previously identified." BT said the activity involved improper sales, purchase and leasing transactions, which led the company to overstate its Italian profit over "a number of years."

The FRC, which is responsible for promoting high-quality corporate governance and reporting, said Thursday that following completion of initial enquiries, it will begin the investigation into BT's consolidated financial statements for the years ended March 31, 2015 to 2017 inclusive.

--Stu Woo contributed to this article

Write to Razak Musah Baba at [e-mail]; Twitter: @Raztweet

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2017 03:37 ET (07:37 GMT)

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