HW Fisher fined £140K for Liberty Commodities audit failures
by@Reuters
Summary
HW Fisher, an auditing firm, has been fined £140,000 ($186,500) by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for failing to exercise adequate professional skepticism during the audit of Liberty Commodities Ltd (LCL) for the period ending March 31, 2020. Alongside this penalty, Simon Mott-Cowan, an accountant involved in the audit, has also been fined £17,500. The FRC noted that while the audit breaches were numerous and serious, they were not deemed intentional or reckless. This action is part of a broader scrutiny of commodity trading firms linked to Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, especially following the bankruptcy of Greensill Capital in March 2021, which led to investigations by the UK Serious Fraud Office.
Analysis
HW Fisher: HW Fisher is a UK accounting firm providing audit and advisory services to businesses. It conducted the audit of Liberty Commodities Ltd for the period ending March 31, 2020. The firm has now received a fine and severe reprimand from the Financial Reporting Council for shortcomings in that engagement. GFG Alliance: GFG Alliance is a conglomerate active in metals, steel production, and commodities trading with operations spanning multiple countries. The group includes various subsidiaries focused on industrial supply chains. Its Liberty Commodities subsidiary's 2020 audit has drawn recent regulatory scrutiny from the UK Financial Reporting Council. Simon Mott-Cowan: Simon Mott-Cowan is a UK accountant who previously handled audit work before voluntarily ending his audit practice at the end of 2025. He participated in the Liberty Commodities Ltd audit. Mott-Cowan has been fined and reprimanded by the Financial Reporting Council for the same audit deficiencies. Liberty Commodities: Liberty Commodities Ltd operates in the physical trading, supply chain, and logistics of non-ferrous metals, semi-finished steel, and raw materials for steelmaking. It functions as a key part of the GFG Alliance. The company was the subject of an audit that led to penalties for its auditors over insufficient professional skepticism. Sector Scrutiny: Commodity trading firms connected to the GFG Alliance remain under ongoing examination by UK authorities following earlier corporate collapses. Regulatory Oversight: The Financial Reporting Council continues to penalize auditors for lapses in professional skepticism during client audits.
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macro