London-listed InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) has chosen to switch auditors and has appointed PWC as statutory auditor for the year to end-December 2021 following a competitive audit tender. The proposal is subject to a vote by shareholders at the 2021 Annual General Meeting. The company had previously revealed in its 2018 annual report that it would be holding a tender, in line with the EU Audit Regulation Directive (ARD) and Competition and Markets Authority rules.
EY, which has audited IHG since in listed on the London market in 2003, will continue to undertake the role of auditor for the financial years 2019 and [subject to shareholder vote] 2020. In fact, EY’s association with IHG goes back further as the firm was also responsible for the audit of the group’s predecessors for several years.
In 2018, IHG paid EY a total of $7.8m, of which $3.3m was for the audit of IHG’s financial statement, including $400,000 for advice on the implementation of new accounting standards. A further $2.9m was paid for the audit of subsidiaries. Total remuneration paid to EY by the company in 2017 was $6.7m.
