Deloitte fined £6.05 million in UK over audits of transport operator Go-Ahead Group

LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Accounting firm Deloitte has been fined £6.05 million ($7.98 million) over its audits of transport operator Go-Ahead Group for the financial years between 2016 and 2020, Britain's Financial Reporting Council said on Thursday.

The FRC said the penalty had been reduced from £11 million due to Deloitte's "exceptional cooperation" and admissions.

"We regret that aspects of our audit work did not meet the standards expected and have learned from this matter," a Deloitte spokesperson said. "We are committed to continuous improvement and the delivery of high quality audits."

Deloitte's fine relates to overpayments made by Britain's Department for Transport to one of Go-Ahead Group's subsidiaries, London & South Eastern Railway, under a rail franchise agreement before Deloitte became auditor.

LSER retained the money and did not tell the Department of Transport, which eventually became aware in 2021 and took action to recover the overpayments.

The FRC said Deloitte had "failed to challenge the wrongful retention by (Go-Ahead Group) of over £30 million of public money for an extended period".

Penrose Foss, the FRC's executive director of investigations and enforcement, said in a statement: "These breaches show a highly concerning pattern of failure by Deloitte to apply sufficient scrutiny to decisions and actions by (Go-Ahead Group) which were clearly questionable."

($1 = 0.7578 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Kate Holton, Sarah Young and Paul Sandle)