EY is set to replace PwC as the auditors to energy giant Royal Dutch Shell following a competitive tender process.
EY will be proposed to shareholders at the 2016 AGM as the new auditors to Shell for the year ending 31 December 2016 onwards.
PwC has been sole auditor of the group since 2005, having previously shared duties with KPMG. According to the 2014 annual report, PwC was paid a total of $50m (£32m) in audit fees for the year plus an additional $3m (£1.9m) in other fees for non-audit related services.
The petroleum giant signalled its intention to review its external auditors last year, when the audit committee reported setting up a tender advisory committee, saying the decision to start a tender process reflected new European and UK rules affecting the mandatory tendering of statutory audit services.
PwC had held the audit contract since 2005. Hywel Ball, EY’s UK head of audit, said the audit win was a further indication of EY’s credentials in the energy sector, as the firm already audits BP and the BG Group in the UK. ‘We are really excited to be proposed as auditors to Royal Dutch Shell’s shareholders at this pivotal moment for the organisation and are proud to have been selected from among the competition. ‘Royal Dutch Shell is the largest company by market capitalisation in the UK and our global structure, combined with our wealth of experience in the sector and innovative approach to the audit, helps enable us to advise international businesses of this scale,’ Ball said.
Ball said the EU audit rotation rules are starting to have a significant impact on the number of audits coming up for tender, with the first half of this year seeing as many live FTSE 100 audit tenders as in the whole of 2014.
Other recent EY audit wins include Royal Bank of Scotland, Sainsbury’s, The London Stock Exchange Group, The Co-operative Bank, Sage Group, Land Securities, the BBC, Dyson and the Audit Commission.
EY will be proposed to shareholders at the 2016 AGM as the new auditors to Shell for the year ending 31 December 2016 onwards. PwC has been sole auditor of the group since 2005, having previously shared duties with KPMG. According to the 2014 annual report, PwC was paid a total of $50m (£32m) in audit fees for the year plus an additional $3m (£1.9m) in other fees for non-audit related services. The petroleum giant signalled its intention to review its external auditors last year, when the audit committee reported setting up a tender advisory committee, saying the decision to start a tender process reflected new European and UK rules affecting the mandatory tendering of statutory audit services.
PwC had held the audit contract since 2005. Hywel Ball, EY’s UK head of audit, said the audit win was a further indication of EY’s credentials in the energy sector, as the firm already audits BP and the BG Group in the UK.
‘We are really excited to be proposed as auditors to Royal Dutch Shell’s shareholders at this pivotal moment for the organisation and are proud to have been selected from among the competition.
‘Royal Dutch Shell is the largest company by market capitalisation in the UK and our global structure, combined with our wealth of experience in the sector and innovative approach to the audit, helps enable us to advise international businesses of this scale,’ Ball said.
Ball said the EU audit rotation rules are starting to have a significant impact on the number of audits coming up for tender, with the first half of this year seeing as many live FTSE 100 audit tenders as in the whole of 2014.
Other recent EY audit wins include Royal Bank of Scotland, Sainsbury’s, The London Stock Exchange Group, The Co-operative Bank, Sage Group, Land Securities, the BBC, Dyson and the Audit Commission.
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