Standard Chartered chooses to keep KPMG as its audit provider
STANDARD Chartered will keep KPMG as its auditor after hearing pitches for the contract from other so-called Big Four accountants.
The bank, which put its audit contract out to tender in August, is expected to reconfirm KPMG in the post in its annual report in spring.
KPMG has checked StanChart’s books for around 40 years. The emerging markets bank took pitches from KPMG as well as others in the Big Four giants of accounting, but the complexity of the business meant challenger firms were left out of the process.
The Competition Commission last year called for FTSE 350 companies to put their audit contract out to tender at least every 10 years, in an attempt to open up the market. All but one of the FTSE 100 use a Big Four firm as their auditor.