The Wood Group Affair: How a “Poor Financial Culture” Destroyed £13m and 78% of Shareholder Value

March 2026 delivered one of the sharpest governance enforcement cases in recent UK memory. The FCA fined John Wood Group PLC £12.9m for publishing misleading financial results across 2022, 2023, and the first half of 2024. This was a period during which the Aberdeen-headquartered engineering consultancy was
haemorrhaging money on complex fixed-price contracts while publicly insisting performance was on track. The FCA’s findings are a real lesson in how commercial
pressure can corrupt accounting culture.

It’s clear from the findings that staff felt intense pressure to maintain market-facing performance. Provisions were released at aggregate rather than project level effectively robbing one project’s prudence to paper over another’s losses. Revenue from unapproved contractual changes was recognised. Cost savings were assumed that never materialised.

Moreover, auditors were not provided sufficient information to properly assess accounting judgements.

The regulator used pointed language: Wood Group had developed a “poor financial culture.” By November 2024, the truth began surfacing; by April 2025, the share price had fallen 78%. Trading was suspended the following month. The company was ultimately acquired by Dubai-based Sidara at a deeply discounted valuation.

“The governance lesson: The FCA explicitly noted that Wood Group should have learned from its earlier Carillion final notice. When enforcement bodies signal a pattern, boards have a duty to stress-test whether the same risks exist in their own
organisations.”