PwC will take over from Deloitte as auditor of Diploma Plc following a competitive tender process.
Deloitte will continue to audit the group for its 2017 financial statements after which PwC will take over, subject to shareholder approval in their annual general meeting in January 2018.
Diploma’s audit committee chair Anne Thorburn explained that the committee was “satisfied” that Deloitte had “carried out a robust and effective audit with appropriate challenge of executive management”, but that they had decided to undergo an audit tender process as Deloitte is approaching its 10 year anniversary as group auditor.
She explained that PwC was chosen as successor as they fulfilled the “principal criteria of capability, audit quality and cultural fit”.
The FTSE 250 company’s financial statements show that Deloitte earned £500,000 for its 2016 audit and £13,000 in non-audit fees.
Due to audit tender rules, several audits have switched hands between the Big Four as of late.
Recently published auditor rankings showed Deloitte coming out on top with most FTSE 250 audit clients, but PwC reigning with highest market cap for both FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies.