US officials behind Pru’s decision to drop PwC as auditor

US officials behind Pru's decision to drop PwC as auditor

THE US Securities & Exchange Commission's increasingly hard line on auditor independence is understood to have, in part, cost PricewaterhouseCoopers the multi million pound audit contract for Prudential, the British insurance group, it was reported today.

A report in the Times newspaper said the Pru had planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange this year but had to delay this after the US financial regulator took a strict view of the relationship between the Pru and PwC.

It is understood the SEC objected to PwC partners having unit-linked policies and pension and endowment policies with the Pru ahead of a listing.

PwC partners, adamant that a divestment of investments was unnecessary, were slow to make changes, prompting the SEC to contact the Pru to make its objections clear.

It is believed that KPMG, who took over the audit contract, has had to implement strict rules as a condition of gaining the work, which has meant its partners holding Pru with-profits policies divesting a number of savings plans.

The Pru drops auditor PwC for KPMG

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