MPs accuse PwC of taking advantage of Carillion and its collapse

A parliamentary committee has accused PricewaterhouseCoopers for “milking the Carillion cow dry” as the accountancy firm was grilled over the construction company’s collapse earlier this year.

PwC was hired by Carillion to manage their pensions liabilities in 2012 and became adviser to the trustees last year. Once Carillion had filed for bankruptcy, PwC were appointed as special managers.

On Wednesday, partners from the professional services firm was accused of charging “superhuman” fees over the £20.4m bill amassed in eight weeks work with the collapsed outsource.

Partners from PwC told the Commons work and pensions committee they had no idea how much they would ultimately charge, admitting it would be at least June before they could estimate overall costs.

Work and pensions committee chairman Frank Field had earlier said: “PwC had every incentive to milk the Carillion cow dry. Then, when Carillion finally collapsed, PwC adroitly re-emerged as butcher, packaging up joints of the fallen beast to be flogged off.

“For this they are handsomely rewarded by the taxpayer. They claim to be experts in every aspect of company management. They’re certainly experts in ensuring they get their cut at every stage.”

KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC took £72m from work carried out on Carillion.