Auditors Unable to Verify £7m in Wages, Crucial Info Missing

  • Frasers Group faces audit issues at I Saw It First and Choice
  • Auditors unable to verify £7m in wages and salaries for I Saw It First
  • Crucial information missing for Choice’s audit
  • I Saw It First payroll data lost during system migration
  • Financial Reporting Council fined Grant Thornton £1.3m for past failings

Two of Frasers Group’s fashion brands, I Saw It First and Choice, have encountered audit issues. Auditors for I Saw It First at Cooper Parry were unable to verify nearly £7 million worth of wages and salary payments, according to This is Money. Additionally, crucial information needed for the audit of Choice, which Mike Ashley-controlled Frasers Group bought from JD Sports in late 2022, was missing. I Saw It First revealed that it lost payroll data during the transition to Frasers Group’s accounting systems. A spokesperson stated, ‘A limited set of I Saw It First payroll data can no longer be accessed because it wasn’t migrated onto Frasers Group’s systems during the post-acquisition integration process, and the system it was stored on no longer exists.’ These audit issues have raised further concerns about Frasers Group’s corporate governance standards. The Financial Reporting Council previously fined the company’s former auditor, Grant Thornton, £1.3 million for ‘serious failings’ in reviewing Sports Direct International’s (now Frasers) accounts for the fiscal year ending April 2016.

Factuality Level: 7
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate and relevant information about the audit issues faced by two of Frasers Group’s fashion brands, I Saw It First and Choice. However, it contains some redundancy in mentioning the name of the publication (This is Money) and includes a brief reference to another unrelated topic at the end (Next ramping up its rivalry with Frasers). The overall factuality level is high but not perfect due to these minor issues.
Noise Level: 6
Noise Justification: The article provides some relevant information about audit issues faced by two of Frasers Group’s fashion brands but also includes unrelated information about the company’s rivalry with Next and a call-to-action to sign up for a newsletter.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: Frasers Group, I Saw It First, Choice, and potentially other companies in the fashion industry
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses audit issues with two of Frasers Group’s fashion brands, I Saw It First and Choice, which could impact their financial reporting and corporate governance. This may have implications for the company’s reputation and financial performance, as well as potentially affecting other companies in the fashion industry through increased competition from rivals like Next.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in the text and it doesn’t meet the criteria of an extreme event happening in the last 48 hours.

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