Deloitte loses out to KPMG in Arrow Group audit tender

KPMG HAS REPLACED DELOITTE as auditor of Arrow Group for the current financial year.

Deloitte was appointed auditor of the consumer debt management company in 2009. The firm also advised Arrow Global on its October 2013 initial public offering (IPO).

The auditor’s statutory statement of resignation confirmed it had been unsuccessful in its tender and there were no other circumstances that influenced it exiting the contract, Arrow Global said.

In its 2013 annual accounts, Arrow Global noted Deloitte received “significant” non-audit fees last year, as a result of one-off work related to its stock exchange listing.

While the business considered other providers for its issuance of senior secured notes and IPO work, it concluded Deloitte “were best positioned to provide the services required, from their knowledge gained as external auditor, without compromising independence”. As such, it recommended Deloitte be reappointed as auditor for the financial year ending 31 December 2013.

The audit committee report confirmed it would tender for the subsequent financial year, due to the “required rotation of the audit partner” at Deloitte and the company’s recent IPO. It also highlighted its intention to voluntarily comply with the UK Corporate Governance Code’s tender requirements in advance of its potential entry to the FTSE 350 and “the need to review the level of non-audit fees going forward” as reasons to go out to market.

Last month, EY replaced PwC as auditor for funeral provider Dignity, with the company citing the level of non-audit fees received by the incumbent firm as the reason behind the switch.