International accounting firm KPMG agreed to a $6.2 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, regulators announced Tuesday. The firm had been accused of improperly auditing the financial statement of Miller Energy Resources, which regulators say grossly overstated values of oil and gas assets possessed by the company.

In a statement, the SEC's director for the Atlanta regional office, Walter Jospin, said the case was a cautionary tale for auditing firms to “fully comprehend the industries of their clients.”


Walter Jospin


Alison Church

“KPMG retained a new client and failed to grasp how it valued oil and gas properties, resulting in investors being misinformed that properties purchased for less than $5 million were worth a half-billion dollars,” Jospin said.