Bank of England switches auditor after 86 years
Bank of England switches auditor after 86 years
Bank of England switches auditor after 86 years
The Bank of England has changed its auditors, apparently for the first time
since records began, writes Alex Hawkes.
The Bank confirmed this week that it had switched auditors from
PricewaterhouseCoopers to KPMG, after the contract was put out to tender in
November of last year.
‘We have been allied to PwC and predecessor firms since at least the early
20th century,’ a spokeswoman said.
It was not possible to determine how much further the relationship went, she
said. The relationship with PwC and its predecessors dated from at least 1920,
records indicated.
The contract is a high-profile win for KPMG, though it may not be of huge
significance to the firm’s revenues. PwC earned £723,000 for audit and other
work last year, the Bank’s annual report and accounts said.
Asked why the bank had decided to change auditors after such a long time, the
spokeswoman said: ‘It’s standard practice to go through a change of auditors.’
PwC will audit this year’s accounts, the appointment being effective from
next week, she added.
The win continues a good 18 months for KPMG, which is riding high on revenue
growth topping 20%.
AccountancyAge.com revealed on Friday that John Griffith-Jones, the firm’s
chief executive, looked set to become its new senior partner after being the
only name put forward for the role to the current partners.
If Griffith-Jones secures the support of 75% of partners he will get the job,
with an announcement due in early March.
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