The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has revealed it has commenced an investigation in relation to the audit conducted by Mazars LLP of the financial statements of Studio Retail Group plc for the period ended 26 March 2021.
The decision was made at a meeting of the FRC’s Conduct Committee on 13 September 2022.
The investigation will be conducted by the FRC’s Enforcement Division under the Audit Enforcement Procedure.
In February, Studio Retail Ltd (SRL) collapsed into administration and was acquired by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.
It came after Studio Retail, previously known as Findel, had been unable to reach an agreement with its UK lenders to acquire a short-term loan of £25m.
The funding application was created to provide the additional finance which Studio reportedly requires to fund the surplus stockholding which it believed was sufficient to enable it to sell through the stock to customers.
As announced on 31 January, Studio has a surplus stockholding which requires additional working capital funding whilst this stock is sold through to customers.
Mazars has been contacted for comment.
