Richard Sexton, head of reputation and public policy, PwC said:

"The audit plays a fundamental role in the orderly operation of capital markets and serving the interests of shareholders.

"We are very clear that we report to the shareholders and engage with the Audit Committee as their representatives.

"We believe that the Competition Commission have grossly underestimated the critical role that Audit Committees play in protecting the interests of shareholders.

"We are unable to comment further because the Competition Commission has taken the step of publishing only the summary of the provisional findings rather than the full report at this time. Once we have received the full provisional findings we will comment further."

ENDS