Auditor fines are welcome but why aren’t Thomas Cook bosses being targeted?

It’s good that auditors are being forced to shape up but company directors should be similarly investigated, James Moore says

A fine against the auditors might buy off public outrage over Thomas Cook's collapse (PA)

The number crunchers are on the naughty step like never before.

Fines levied by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) jumped 44 per cent to a record high of £24.3m in the year ending 30 September, according to Thomson Reuters, the tech and media outfit.

The rise is easy to understand given the way a number of high-profile companies have collapsed just months after having been signed off as going concerns by their auditors.