Deloitte could face a record £15m fine for the “serious nature” of its misconduct over its audits of Autonomy, the software company at the centre of one of the biggest corporate fraud scandals in UK history.

The Financial Reporting Council proposed the fine at a disciplinary hearing on 9 July after finding that the Big Four firm and two of its former partners had failed to “act with integrity” in their role as auditors of Autonomy.