BDO, one of the country’s most prominent audit firms, signed off on a series of accounts and a compliance report for the Shield Master Fund before the $1.2 billion superannuation investment scheme it was part of collapsed, hurting the retirement savings of 12,000 clients.

Financial regulators are investigating the failure of the Shield Master Fund, which had $480 million in assets, and First Guardian Master Fund, which had $505 million. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission halted new offers of investments in Shield in February last year, and later launched legal action against the investment schemes.