Audit Nibs: PwC rides Stagecoach
PricewaterhouseCoopers has picked up the audit contract for Stagecoach as it exits the ranks of Andersen's dwindling client list.
Stagecoach ditched Andersen, soon to become part of Deloitte & Touche in the UK, because it said the firm was no longer able to offer the global reach required by the public transport operator.
The news came as the Bank of China, currently preparing to float in New York and Hong Kong, also announced it no longer required Andersen’s services. Again, PwC has been called in to take charge of the audit.
Software giant Oracle has also defected from the firm in favour of rival Ernst & Young.
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PricewaterhouseCoopers has resigned as auditor to P&P Designs, a clothes-importer, due to concerns over its accounting policies.
Concerns that the London-based company inflated its invoices by $1.3m (£900,000) to achieve better credit led PwC to file a letter at Companies House on 6 February stating that ‘the relationship of trust that should exist between an auditor and the company and its directors has broken down’. P&P has rejected all concerns.
The Auditing Practices Board has published guidance for auditing financial derivatives based on the international standards.
Ian Plaistowe, APB chairman, said: ‘Derivative financial instruments are often complex and their use is now common place. Risks related to their use can be high. This guidance will help auditors in planning and performing procedures for financial statement assertions related to derivative financial instruments.’
