The audit regulator is making inquiries into Manchester City's accounts but has not opened a formal investigation
BBC News reports on 20 October that the audit regulator is looking into Manchester City's accounting. It says no formal investigation has started, but the regulator is making inquiries into the case. Accountant.nl, a Dutch trade outlet, reports in October 2026 that BDO audited the club for much of the period under review. It says the Financial Reporting Council has not opened a formal investigation into BDO or those who prepared the accounts, and that audit oversight of the club sits with the ICAEW because it is not a public interest entity. Manchester City beat AEK Athens in the Champions League on the same night, the Guardian reports, with Phil Foden scoring a hat-trick.
Whether the regulator can act depends on who it supervises: audits of public interest entities fall to the FRC, while other clubs fall to the professional body, the ICAEW. That decides who investigates the auditor and what sanctions are possible.
For supporters, nothing changes on the pitch today. The inquiries concern how the accounts were audited rather than match results.
The regulator's position, as BBC News reports it, is that it is making inquiries without a formal investigation, which keeps its options open.
Accountant.nl's reading is that the question of jurisdiction puts pressure on both BDO and the British system of audit oversight, since the club is not a public interest entity.
Confirmed by BBC News: inquiries, no formal investigation. Not confirmed: whether a formal case follows, and which body would lead it. Watch for a statement from the regulator or the ICAEW.
DailyDrop U.K. edition No. 17 · Morning · WED., OCT. 21, 2026