Barclays hires KPMG as its auditor after 120 years with PwC
PrintListen to this Article
Giant accounting firm KPMG will take over the lucrative audit of Barclays’ books from 2017, the bank announced today, bringing PwC’s long-term tenure to an end.
Britain’s banks have been encouraged to put their audit contracts out to tender more frequently, to make sure a new set of eyes reviews the finances and to avoid building too close a relationship with the accountants.
PwC has audited Barclays’ books since 1896, and was not invited to re-apply for the role as the bank wanted to switch to a competitor.
Last year the auditor was paid £44m by the bank. The new appointment will have to be approved by shareholders at the 2017 annual general meeting.
A number of banks are switching auditors
However, PwC is not too badly out of pocket – other banks are also switching auditors, and PwC is getting the job at HSBC.
“We are pleased to have conducted what I believe has been a very thorough, open and transparent audit tender process, a description of which can be found on the Barclays website,” said Tim Breedon, chairman of the Barclays audit tender oversight sub-committee. “We thank PwC for their significant contribution as Barclays’ auditors. We look forward to working with KPMG in the future.”
Demands for banks to switch auditors grew louder in the wake of the financial crisis, as audits had failed to show up any danger signs shortly before some banks collapsed. (Telegraph)
Category : Auditing | Comments : 0 | Hits : 1005
In a boost to the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the regulator for auditors and audit firms dealing with large and listed companies, the Supreme Court has upheld an order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) related to disciplinary action against errant auditors. Last month, the apex court dismissed an appeal filed by chartered accountant Sam Varghese, partner at K Varghese & Co. Varghese was one of the four auditors against whom NFRA had acted, and in...
Hindustan Unilever Ltd. has announced that its cost auditor has been disqualified from continuing amid a conflict of interest. The decision was made after it was discovered that Rasesh Vipin Chokshi, who is a partner at the firm R.A. & Co., was holding shares in the company. According to the Companies Act, 2013, a cost auditor cannot hold any shares in the company for which they're auditing the costs. Following this violation, M/S R.A. & Co. has been asked to vac...
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Anita Kirdat, a former concurrent auditor of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, in connection with a multi-crore loan fraud case. Kirdat, 48, a chartered accountant (CA) from Bhandup, who runs a firm, Anita Kirdat and Company, was arrested by the Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai Police in 2019 in the PMC Bank scam. She served as the concurrent auditor of PMC Bank from 2005 to 2019. She was alleged to have been appointed at the behest...
Tighter regulations and lower fees are making the auditing profession challenging, said panelists at an international conference held by the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) here on Tuesday. “The business model of pure audit is under significant pressure. It’s getting tighter and tighter from the point of avoiding conflict,” said Uday Kotak, former managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Stating that regulators would want the best of talent in the audi...
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu, on Friday announced the setting up of the Supreme Audit Institution India’s International Centre for Audit of Local Governance (iCAL) in Rajkot, Gujarat. At the conclusion of the three-day international conference on ‘Strengthening of Grass Roots Democracy and Accountability’, Mr. Murmu said local governments played a pivotal role in shaping the lives of citizens. Effective accounting platforms and aud...
Comments