BAT Latest To Switch Auditor, Ending 16-Year Relationship With PwC

Tue, 24th Mar 2015 08:58

LONDON (Alliance News) - British American Tobacco PLC Tuesday appointed KPMG LLP as its new external auditor, replacing PricewaterhouseCoopers PLC which had been the company's auditor since it listed in 1998.

The switch is the latest amongst a rash of auditor changes by London-listed companies, after the UK anti-trust regulator and the European Commission put in new rules in the wake of the financial crisis requiring companies in the FTSE 350 to re-tender for auditing business every 10 years. The changes came after auditors came in for criticism for not spotting issues within the financial services industry in the run-up to the financial crisis.

BAT said PwC has resigned with immediate effect, with KPMG taking over for 2015. The switch will need to be approved by BAT shareholders at its Annual General Meeting on April 29.

Other FTSE 100 companies to have recently switched auditors include HSBC Holdings PLC, which switched to PwC from KPMG, Unilever PLC, which switched to KPMG from PwC, Whitbread PLC, which switched to Deloitte from Ernst & Young, J Sainsbury PLC, which switched to Ernst & Young from PwC, and Vodafone, which ended a 26-year relationship with Deloitte by switching to PwC.

BAT shares were up 0.4% at 3,718.50 pence early Tuesday.

By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1