Supermarket giant Sainsbury's has become the latest FTSE 100 company to reveal a change of auditor in the wake of recent regulatory changes on auditor rotation, ending a 20-year relationship with PwC with the appointment of EY.
In a Stock Exchange notice, Sainsbury’s says it will recommend the switch at its 2015 AGM, with EY becoming the group’s auditor for the financial year ending 12 March 2016. PwC will be responsible for the retailer’s audit for the financial year ending 14 March 2015.
PwC has been the company’s auditor for some 20 years since 1995 and last year was paid a total of £1.2m in fees according to Sainsbury’s 2014 annual report. The audit fee for the year in respect of the group and its subsidiaries totalled £900,000. In addition PwC earned £200,000 for audit related assurance services such as the interim
In the 2014 annual report Sainsbury’s indicated its intention to tender for a change to the group’s auditor for the 2015/16 audit, citing the regulatory changes at both UK and EU level bringing in mandatory audit firm rotation.
Gary Hughes, chairman of the Sainsbury's audit committee, said: ‘We would like to thank PwC, and specifically the Sainsbury's audit partners, for their significant contribution as the company's auditors over many years. Going forward we expect an orderly transition and look forward to working with EY into the future.’
