KPMG Faces Tough Questions After Giving Failed Banks a Clean Bill of Health

KPMG, the largest auditor of US banks, is facing mounting questions about the quality of its work and independence following three bank failures since March. The accounting firm was auditor to Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic, and Signature, and gave all three banks a clean bill of health as recently as February. KPMG’s work is expected to be scrutinized by experts with regards to the degree of independence their staff maintained from the banks they audited, the level of attention paid to potential warning signs, and their proficiency in evaluating the accuracy of financial statements. KPMG’s audits of banks are particularly significant to the firm, accounting for about 14% of its fees from public clients.