Sainsbury's will appoint Ernst & Young as auditor, ending a relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers dating back about two decades.
Ernst & Young will take over after this year's annual general meeting of the UK supermarket company, Sainsbury's said today in a statement. The decision follows a tender process overseen by the grocer’s audit committee, it said.
“Going forward we expect an orderly transition,” said Gary Hughes, chairman of Sainsbury’s audit committee.
Sainsbury’s relationship with PWC dates back to 1994 when the company appointed Coopers & Lybrand as joint auditor. The grocer had flagged it was seeking a new auditor in its annual report, published in June last year.
A Sainsbury's spokesman said the decision to replace PWC was unrelated to developments at larger competitor Tesco, which is also a client of the auditor. Tesco’s accounts for the past three financial years are being investigated by the Financial Reporting Council after a £263 million ($400 million) overstatement of profit forecasts.
A PWC spokesman wasn’t immediately available for comment
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
