Big 4 firm wins FTSE 250 Derwent audit
PWC has won the tender to become auditors for FTSE 250 real estate investor Derwent London. They replace current auditors BDO. Derwent put its audit out for tender in 2012.
BDO earned £300,000 in audit fees last year. PWC will now be appointed as the firms new auditors for 2014 financial year subject to agreement at the next AGM.
With the Big 4 firm replacing BDO, it is highlighting the trouble mid-tier firms have in competing in the audit market which is dominated by the larger firms.
There are new EU and UK rules coming into place to try and stop this from happening and to encourage greater competition in the audit market. The new rules will see companies putting their accounts out to tender on a regular basis. Read more in our previous blog Preliminarily agreement reached on the EU audit reform
Mid-tier firms such as BDO, Grant Thornton and Mazars, had hoped the change would open up the market to firms outside the Big Four. However, they are yet to make any inroads into the market with every FTSE 350 audit to have changed hands over the past 12 months going from one Big Four firm to another.
Recently PWC replaced rival big 4 firm Deloitte on the Vodafone audit contract PwC wins Vodafone audit contract
Last year KPMG became the new auditors for the housebuilder Berkeley Group while Deloitte are the new auditors for the high street retailer Marks & Spencer, both replacing PWC Big 4 audit firms appointed as new auditors for Berkeley Group and Marks & Spencers
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