Grant Thornton International and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have agreed to pay $15 million (£9 million) to settle a class action lawsuit relating to the collapse of Parmalat.
The two companies audited the Italian dairy firm's accounts prior to its collapse and were being sued by US investment funds on behalf of thousands of individuals who claimed to have lost money because of the bankruptcy.
If accepted, Grant Thornton will pay $6.5 million and Deloitte $8.5 million in order to settle the case.
The move will now need to be approved by Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the Manhattan District Court.
Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, a spokeswoman for Grant Thornton explained that the company would not be making any payments to the plaintiffs as a result of the agreement.
She said: "We consider this vindication of Grant Thornton LLP - since we were not involved in any wrongdoing with regard to the fraud at Parmalat, nor did we issue any statements or audits with regard to Parmalat - and will continue to vigorously defend against any claims or actions relating to Parmalat."
Parmalat filed for bankruptcy in 2003, after the Bank of America revealed that documents which stated the financial institution was holding around $5 billion in liquid assets for the Italian firm were fake.
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