Standard Life appoints KPMG after audit tender
Standard Life appoints KPMG as auditor after 22 years with PwC
EDINBURGH-BASED pensions provider Standard Life has awarded its audit to KPMG after a tender process.
The Big Four firm’s term as auditor will commence for the year ending 31 December 2017 onward, taking over from previous incumbent PwC, which had held the audit since 1994.
According to Standard Life’s 2015 annual report, the audit work was worth £3.7m to PwC, while non-audit fees amounted to £1.3m.
There has been an increase in audit changes as EU audit reform looms next month, which will see mandatory tendering every ten years among public interest entities, with mandatory rotation of auditors every 20 years.
The move is intended to open the FTSE 350 market up to more audit firms such as Grant Thornton and BDO, although there have been warnings it could “further entrench” the Big Four’s market position.
That position has been met with some resistance, however, with some market commentators suggesting it could take as long as ten years to see the fruits of the regulation.