(Reuters) - Britain's accounting watchdog said on Monday it had closed its investigation into auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) which was launched after British retailer Tesco (LON:TSCO) revealed it had overstated its 2014 mid-year earnings.
The Financial Reporting Council said its executive counsel had concluded there was no realistic prospect of a tribunal making an adverse finding against PwC.
The FRC launched an inquiry in late 2014 into the preparation, approval and audit of Tesco's accounts over the previous four years, including the role of external auditor PwC.
Tesco in 2014 announced it had overstated its first-half profits by 250 million pounds due to incorrectly booking payments from suppliers - a figure it later raised to 263 million pounds.
The FRC said the investigation into other chartered accountants who were auditors of Tesco was ongoing.