Tesco ended a 32-year relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by hiring Deloitte as its new auditor, seeking to draw a line under last year's £263-million accounting scandal.
The UK's largest retailer selected Deloitte following a formal tender process, with the appointment being subject to shareholder approval at next month’s annual general meeting, Tesco said in a recent statement.
It was mutually agreed that PwC wouldn’t take part in the tender.
Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive officer, promised “decisive action” last year after being forced to slash profit forecasts less than a month into his tenure.
The Serious Fraud Office opened an investigation after Tesco said that some income was booked before it was earned and costs recognised later than they were incurred.
The 32 years that Tesco has used PwC is among the longest period that any company in the UK benchmark FTSE 100 Index has kept the same auditor. The median tenure is 13 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“I would like to thank PricewaterhouseCoopers for their significant contribution over the past 32 years,” Tesco chairman John Allan said in the statement. “We look forward to working with Deloitte going forward.”
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
