# PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC UK) - **Type:** Advisory firm - **Website:** https://www.pwc.co.uk - **Assessed by:** The Assurance Desk (Add-Venture Advisory Ltd) The UK arm of PwC, one of the Big Four professional-services firms, with a data protection and privacy practice and a published Responsible AI framework. ## PwC UK scores Scored 1 to 5 on six criteria. There is no overall score. ### Help when things go wrong: 2/5 FRC issued two severe reprimands and fines over £8.5m combined (2023, 2025) against this LLP for statutory audit failures; this is the audit line, not the DP/AI advisory service specifically. ### Qualifications of the people who do the work: 4/5 Firm self-publishes ICAEW audit registration, FCA authorisation (221411) and SRA authorisation (629994), plus ISO 27001/27701 certification. ### What it publishes about fees: 2/5 No public fee schedule, rate card, or pricing model was found on any PwC data-protection or AI page. ### Knowledge of your sector: 4/5 Live dedicated Data protection and privacy practice page and a separate Responsible AI framework page with named governance strands exist on PwC's own site. ### Independence from what it sells: 3/5 PwC is a fee-based advisory and audit firm rather than a software vendor, but it also builds and licenses its own AI tool, ChatPwC, internally. ### Who carries the risk if the advice is wrong: 3/5 LLP structure caps individual partner liability; firm discloses a named professional indemnity insurer but not a specific cover limit figure. ## Sources for PwC UK Every line carries the page it was read on and the date it was checked. - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is a limited liability partnership, company number OC303525, incorporated 9 December 2002, status Active, registered office 1 Embankment Place, London WC2N 6RH. - Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/OC303525 - Checked: 2026-09-19 - PwC's own regulatory disclosure page states its professional indemnity insurer is L&F Indemnity Limited, with worldwide territorial coverage. - Source: https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/governance/provision-of-services.html - Checked: 2026-09-19 - The same page discloses PwC's ICAEW audit registration (reference C001004062), FCA firm reference (221411) and SRA authorisation (number 629994). - Source: https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/governance/provision-of-services.html - Checked: 2026-09-19 - PwC UK's own 'External standards' page lists current certification to ISO 27001 (information security, held since 2011) and ISO 27701 (privacy information management, held since 2020). - Source: https://www.pwc.com/uk/en/who-we-are/our-purpose/performance/external-standards.html - Checked: 2026-09-19 - The Financial Reporting Council published a severe reprimand and a financial sanction of £2,885,625 against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on 25 March 2025 over the Wyelands Bank plc audit (year ended 30 April 2019). - Source: https://www.frc.org.uk/news-and-events/news/2025/03/sanctions-against-pricewaterhousecoopers-llp-and-jonathan-hinchliffe/ - Checked: 2026-09-19 - The Financial Reporting Council published a severe reprimand and a financial sanction of £5,625,000 against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on 8 March 2023 over the Babcock International Group plc audits (FY2017 and FY2018). - Source: https://www.frc.org.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/03/sanctions-against-pwc-and-two-former-audit-partners/ - Checked: 2026-09-19 - PwC UK runs a live, dedicated 'Data protection and privacy' service page, filed under Services > Consulting > Cyber, Data and Tech Risk > Technology, Data and Analytics. - Source: https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/risk/technology-data-analytics/data-protection.html - Checked: 2026-09-19 ## What this provider publishes Not published means we did not find it on the firm's own pages. - Price: Not published - Indemnity cover: Published - Credentials: Published - Independent accreditation: Published - Client results: Not published - How it uses AI: Published ## Strengths - Legal identity fully matched at Companies House (OC303525, active, incorporated 2002). - Self-discloses professional indemnity insurance (insurer named, worldwide cover) on its own regulatory-disclosure page. - Holds and publishes ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certification for information security and privacy information management. - Multi-regulator authorisation is publicly disclosed: ICAEW (audit), FCA (221411), SRA (629994). - Live, dedicated Data protection and privacy practice page plus a separate published Responsible AI framework with a named 'demonstrating regulatory compliance' strand. - Firm's own Transparency Report discloses internal generative-AI use (ChatPwC) 'within a secure environment', going beyond generic marketing claims. ## Things to check Each one carries the factual basis it rests on. - FRC published a severe reprimand and £2,885,625 fine against PwC (25 March 2025) for breaches across six audit-requirement areas on the Wyelands Bank plc audit. - Basis: FRC final sanctions decision, published 25 March 2025, financial sanction £2,885,625 after discounts. - FRC published a severe reprimand and £5,625,000 fine against PwC (8 March 2023) for repeated failures to challenge management and obtain sufficient audit evidence on the Babcock International Group plc audits. - Basis: FRC final sanctions decision, published 8 March 2023, financial sanction £5,625,000 after discounts. ## Where this firm appears - [Does the EU AI Act apply to a UK firm?](https://theassurancedesk.com/best/eu-ai-act-exposed) - [Your sector adds its own rules to UK data protection law](https://theassurancedesk.com/best/sector-regulated) - [Compare providers](https://theassurancedesk.com/compare) --- **Scope.** The Assurance Desk covers data protection, AI governance and cyber security in the United Kingdom and the United States. It scores providers in both: UK-facing firms, and firms based in the United States. Every provider scored so far was selected for data-protection, AI-governance or security-assurance work. Where a page describes law, it names the country that law applies in. **Who publishes this.** The Assurance Desk is published by Add-Venture Advisory Ltd, company number 11854524, registered in England and Wales. The same owner runs Avouch, a marketing agency that sells AI visibility services to firms of the kind this site covers. That is a conflict of interest, and it is disclosed here. **Corrections.** If you represent this firm and something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@theassurancedesk.com with the evidence.