KPMG under fire for failing to flag risks that brought down Silicon Valley Bank

Critical audit matters

KPMG has come under fire for failing to flag the risks that brought down Silicon Valley Bank in its audit of the bank two weeks before its collapse.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (10 April) that the Big Four audit firm had flagged potential losses on loans as a so-called critical audit matter, but not of the unrealised bond losses that ultimately led to the bank's collapse. KPMG had audited the bank for nearly two decades. Less than a fortnight before the bank's failure, it signed its final audit opinion. 'This time is different': SVB collapse symptom of easy money rather than systemic banking issues Critical audit matters were introduced in 2019 to inform investors of matters arising from the audit that required "...