JOHANNESBURG — Major corporates continue to distance themselves from KPMG SA as Nedbank has now announced that it plans to ditch the auditing firm. If KPMG keeps losing clients at this rate, it won’t have much runway left in the country. KPMG is readying to install a new SA CEO (sourced from outside the country) but one has to ask: who would want to head up KPMG SA at this moment in time? – Gareth van Zyl
SENS ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NEDBANK:
In June 2017, the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors published a rule prescribing that auditors of public interest entities in South Africa must comply with mandatory audit firm rotation (‘MAFR’), whereby audit firms shall not serve as the appointed auditor of a public interest entity for more than 10 consecutive years, with effect from 1 April 2023.
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The Boards of the Companies and their respective audit committees wish to inform shareholders that, following a comprehensive tender process, Ernst & Young Incorporated, with Mr Farouk Mohideen as the designated registered audit partner, has been nominated as their new joint external auditors effective 8 and 10 May 2019 respectively. These appointments are subject to shareholders’ approval at the Companies’ annual general meetings on 8 and 10 May 2019, and will commence from the financial year ending 31 December 2019. As a consequence, KPMG Inc. will rotate off the Companies’ audits on conclusion of its external audit responsibilities for the year ending 31 December 2018, expected to be at the conclusion of the relevant AGMs.
Ernst & Young will provide its services alongside Deloitte & Touche, who have, as a consequence of the tender process been nominated to remain the joint external auditor of the Companies, subject to shareholder approval at the relevant AGMs, until their rotation off the Companies’ audits in line with MAFR implementation timelines.
