Andersen, one of the "big five" professional services firms, yesterday agreed to pay $7 million (€8.2 million) to settle allegations of audit fraud in a landmark case brought by US regulators.

The firm is handing the money to the US Treasury as part of a deal reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it was fraudulent in auditing a client later responsible for the largest restatement of profits in US history.

The case marks the most significant effort yet by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the chief US financial regulator, to clamp down on unreliable auditing.