Pwc Probe Opens Over Digital 9 Infrastructure Audit
pwc is under fresh scrutiny after Britain’s accounting regulator opened a probe into the firm’s audit of Digital 9 Infrastructure for the year ended December 2023. The Financial Reporting Council said on Thursday, April 9 ET, that its enforcement division will handle the investigation under the audit enforcement procedure. Digital 9 Infrastructure, a UK-based investment trust now winding down, has not yet commented.
What the FRC is examining
The probe focuses on pwc’s financial audit of Digital 9 Infrastructure for the fiscal year ended December 2023. The Financial Reporting Council said the case is being run by its enforcement division, marking a formal step under its audit enforcement procedure.
pwc had served as Digital 9’s external auditor since the trust’s 2021 listing on the London bourse. The company later decided to wind down in early 2024 after a period marked by poor returns and governance issues, adding weight to the regulatory attention now centered on the audit.
Pwc says it will cooperate
A pwc spokesperson said the firm will cooperate fully with the regulator’s enquiries and added that audit quality is of paramount importance. The statement places pwc directly at the center of the inquiry while signaling that the firm plans to engage with the process.
Digital 9 Infrastructure did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No further details have been made public about the specific issues the regulator is examining.
Why the case matters
The investigation lands at a sensitive moment for a trust already in wind-down mode. With the audit period tied to December 2023 and the trust’s later decision to unwind, the FRC’s move raises questions about whether the audit met the regulator’s standards.
For pwc, the case adds another layer of oversight pressure at a time when audit quality is under sharp focus. The regulator has not said how long the process may take or what outcome it expects.
What happens next
The next developments will likely center on the FRC’s enforcement process and any response that emerges from Digital 9 Infrastructure. For now, pwc remains under investigation, and the probe into pwc’s audit of Digital 9 Infrastructure is the main story the market and regulators will be watching.
