PwC to take over from KPMG as M&G’s external auditor
Investment management firm M&G has appointed PwC as its external auditor for the year ending 31 December 2022.
The appointment will be recommended to M&G’s shareholders for approval at the 2022 annual general meeting.
The investment firm decided to run its audit tender process in 2020. It was required to change auditor under the external auditor rotation rules by 2023.
According to M&G’s 2019 annual report, KPMG has been M&G’s auditor since 1999 as part of the external audit of life insurer Prudential, which M&G was a part of until recently.
During the year ended 31 December 2019, the total fees paid to KPMG amounted to £19.8 million, of which £11.8 million related to non-audit services.
The majority of the non-audit services related to activity connected with the Prudential demerger, which completed in October.
PwC has been working with M&G since May 2019 to provide guidance and advice to its remuneration committee through its demerger from Prudential.
According to the annual report PwC has “from time to time” provided other services to M&G, such as benchmarking data and remuneration regulatory advice, as well as unrelated advice in respect of assurance, advisory and tax.
M&G and PwC have been contacted for comment.