Toyota stands by PwC
Toyota will stick with PricewaterhouseCoopers as its international accounting firm but has yet to make a decision about its current national auditor Chuo Aoyama PwC
The company said it did not intend to submit any resolutions regarding its
auditor at its general shareholders meeting on 23 June. Toyota has about 520
consolidated subsidiaries abroad, many of which have service contracts with PwC.
The Japanese carmaker will hire a temporary substitute accounting firm until
next year’s shareholders meeting to avoid being left without an auditor after
July, when Chuo Aoyama’s disciplinary action begins.
Chuo Aoyama was given a two-month auditing ban for alleged lax internal
controls that contributed to an accounting fraud at cosmetics company Kanebo.
Three of the firm’s auditors in Japan were arrested for ‘wilfully’ certifying
Kanebo false accounts.
PwC plans to bring a new firm on board in Japan to deal with multinational
clients, although it will continue to work with Chuo Aoyama for local clients.
Japan’s financial services watchdog warned PwC that it should not simply
‘repackage’ the old firm.