Investigations into the conduct of an individual accountant and regarding the audits of State Oil Limited (part of the Prax Group)

News types: Investigations

Published: 11 September 2026

This press notice concerns the opening of investigations into one or more specific individual(s) and the named Statutory Audit Firm(s). It would not be correct or fair to treat any part of this announcement as constituting or evidencing an investigation into any other persons or entities. The opening of an investigation does not indicate that the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has made, or will make, any findings of breach of Relevant Requirements or Misconduct[1] .

The FRC has commenced investigations into the following:

  1. the conduct of an individual accountant in respect of the financing arrangements of State Oil Limited (part of the Prax Group) from February 2021 to June 2025 (an investigation under the Accountancy Scheme[2] );
  2. the Statutory Audits by KPMG LLP of the consolidated financial statements of State Oil Limited for the financial years ended 28 February 2022 and 28 February 2023 (an investigation under the Audit Enforcement Procedure); and
  3. the Statutory Audit by PKF Littlejohn LLP of the consolidated financial statements of State Oil Limited for the financial year ended 29 February 2024 (an investigation under the Audit Enforcement Procedure).

The decisions to open the investigations were made at a meeting of the FRC’s Conduct Committee on 21 July 2026.

The investigations will be conducted by the FRC’s Executive Counsel.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Defined terms in this press notice refer to terms defined in the FRC’s Audit Enforcement Procedure or in the FRC’s Accountancy Scheme, as relevant.  ‘Relevant Requirements’ are defined in the Audit Enforcement Procedure, and ‘Misconduct’ is defined in the Accountancy Scheme.
  2. [2]

    The Accountancy Scheme provides for the investigation by the FRC into the conduct of Members and Member Firms of the following professional bodies for accountants: Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).  Further information about the Accountancy Scheme can be found at  https://www.frc.org.uk/library/enforcement/accountancy-scheme/.

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