Interesting emphasis in news reports of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) inquiry into Tesco's accounts for 2012, 2013 and 2014:

"The FRC's investigation will include business services giant PwC's auditing and preparation of Tesco's accounts. PwC remains as Tesco's auditor."

As discussed on these pages several times, PwC, along with others of the Big Four accountants, are among the great untouchables of the business universe, and have largely managed to escape any serious flak in the great UK financial services meltdown. The FRC, like the rest of the regulatory system, will not be without potential conflicts of interest as no-one who obtains a senior position in these new watchdog bodies is likely to have done so without some past association with these financial behemoths; indeed half of the FRC's board have been employed by them.

So press releases emphasising that PwC is under the microscope are perhaps a sign of interesting things to come in 2015.

Talking of enforced atonement, this was the week when RBS announced an update on its "robust and widespread accountability review", the contemporary jargon for a witch hunt. It is being led by Jon Pain, a splendid name for RBS's witchfinder general, sorry, "head of conduct and regulatory affairs". The conduct of more than 50 current and former traders has been in the frame, and, "so far, six employees have been placed into a disciplinary process, three of whom are currently suspended, pending continuing investigations".

Pain makes the interesting comment: "We are undertaking a robust and thorough review into the actions of the traders that caused this wrongdoing and the management that oversaw it."

Why interesting? Because Agenda has picked up mutters that there might be scapegoating of juniors, and the "management" mention sounds like a hint this will not be permitted. Subsequent employment tribunals will be as interesting as Pain's findings, which are due in the first quarter of 2015.