KPMG walks away from TUI Travel audit

KPMG HAS WALKED AWAY from FTSE 100 travel company TUI Travel, citing a “strained” relationship with directors after a tumultuous year which saw the company restate its accounts.

In a letter to TUI management, KPMG said its relationship had deteriorated to the point where it was “not confident that in the future we could carry out an audit of the company to the appropriate standard”.

“We have decided not to seek reappointment as auditors of the company,” the firm said in its statutory departure letter.

The 29 December letter follows a turbulent year for the audited company, which wrote off £117m in October after failing to marry two accounting systems. The group’s finance director Paul Bowtell also resigned in October following the restatement.

KPMG said discussions with the company on the restatement had put pressure on the relationship.

“Over the course of these discussions our relationship with certain directors became increasingly strained,” the firms said in its letter.

The £2m audit contract has been handed to PwC, subject to shareholder approval.

In a share market announcement TUI said it “had a good working relationship” with KPMG but believed it was appropriate to seek new auditors.