PwC and KPMG have been further implicated in the scandal surrounding Brazilian retailer Americanas, which collapsed in January due to $4 billion of accounting irregularities.
Americanas' new management commissioned an independent investigation that revealed internal correspondence detailing how the company concealed billions of dollars in debt. Evidence presented in a Brazilian congressional inquiry seemed to show that KPMG, which audited the accounts from 2016 to mid-2019, modified an internal report to downplay concerns about financial controls. PwC, the auditor before and after KPMG, allegedly provided advice in 2016 that obscured key features of Americanas' complex supply chain finance arrangements, which were used to hide its indebtedness.
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