Reports at the weekend said the Financial Reporting Council is set to announce an investigation into potential misconduct by two former finance directors at Carillion, the outsourcer that collapsed in January.

The accounting watchdog is expected to confirm this week that there are grounds for a probe into the conduct of Richard Adam and Zafar Khan.

The FRC can prevent a finance director who is a member of a professional association from practising. It can also table significant fines against those found to have “fallen significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected” or brought discredit to the accountancy profession.

The Insolvency Service is already investigating the conduct of directors employed at the point at which the outsourcing giant collapsed, but “also of any individuals who were previously directors”, following a request from the business secretary, Greg Clark.