Big4 Auditor Changes week ending 27 Jul 2014

Very slow week. Multi-Color let go of KPMG last week. This week, they decided to switch to Grant Thornton. And, with the Rothstein Kass acquisition by KPMG, Jason industries decided to make a switch to PwC. If you want to read the SEC filings, just click on the hyper-linked company name.

Filing Date	Company	Location	Old Auditor	New Auditor	Dismissal / Resignation
7/21/2014	Multi-Color Corporation	OH	KPMG LLP	Grant Thornton LLP	Dismissal
7/24/2014	Jason Industries, Inc.	WI	Rothstein Kass & Company, P.C.	Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP	Dismissal

That’s all the Big4 auditor switch news I could dig up. There’s a bit more going on at our sister site, The Auditor Carousel. Check it out.

UPDATE 08/04/2014: A sharp eyed reader alerted us to an auditor change that we missed. China based NQ Mobile let go of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP when the audit firm wanted to expand the scope of work after a special committee independent investigation into electronic data collected by the company. NQ then engaged Marcum Bernstein Pinchuk LLP and has, “full confidence in their ability to conduct their work independently, diligently, and expeditiously.” You can read the full press release here.

Round and round and round…

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Big4 Auditor Changes week ending 20 Jul 2014

Three changes involving Big4 firms this week. Pretty run of the mill stuff. Nothing so juicy as the Ventas change from last week. PwC resigned as Annie’s auditor back in June. Annie took her time to select KPMG as new auditor just this week.

Filing Date	Company	Location	Old Auditor	New Auditor	Dismissal / Resignation
7/14/2014	Annie’s, Inc.	CA	Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP	KPMG LLP	Resignation
7/18/2014	Ashland Inc.	KY	Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP	Ernst & Young LLP	Dismissal
7/18/2014	Multi-Color Corporation	OH	KPMG LLP	–	Dismissal

If you’re interested in auditor changes beyond the Big4, check out our sister site The Auditor Carousel. You can follow us on Twitter, as well. 

Round and round and round…

Q2’14 Big4 Auditor Change Summary

I put together a quick analysis of client gains and losses by each of the Big4 firms in the April – June 2014 period. Note that this only takes into account SEC registrants.

Starting with the losses:

Auditor	Number of engagements lost*
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP	18
Ernst & Young LLP	15
Deloitte & Touche LLP	10
KPMG LLP	9

* includes instances where auditors were dismissed, resigned, or declined to stand for reappointment.

Of the 52 companies making a switch, 20 stayed with the Big4, and 32 went to smaller firms. But the move to smaller firms wasn’t uniform. Nearly half of the PwC and EY clients that switched auditors ended up going to other Big4 firms. On the other hand, former KPMG and Deloitte clients overwhelmingly went with smaller firms, with just 4 out of 19 sticking with the Big4. Not to be lost in all this, second tier firms BDO USA and Grant Thornton each picked up a respectable 6 former Big4 clients. 

And on to the gains:

Auditor	Number of new engagements
KPMG LLP	10
Ernst & Young LLP	10
Deloitte & Touche LLP	6
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP	5

Unlike the losses, when it comes to picking up new clients, the Big4 firms like taking from each other. Of the 31 total new clients, 20 went from one Big4 firm to another. At the same time, Big4 firms are not opposed to taking on clients audited by the smaller firms, with nearly one-third coming that way.

On a net basis, only KPMG made progress in the second quarter, with a net +1 client. Deloitte was -4 on a net basis, Ernst & Young -5, and PwC a robust -13. Not quite as bad for PwC as EY’s net -16 from last quarter, but close enough. Congratulations to KPMG for taking in the most clients on a net basis for the third quarter in a row.

Stop by again to catch our regular weekly updates here on the Big4 Auditor Carousel. Check us out on Twitter too.

Another quarter wrapped up, and yet again we have confirmed…they just keep going round and round and round…