Last year, there were 284 auditor departures (down from 318 in 2015) with the majority of auditor changes attributed to dismissals (85%) and the remaining 15% to resignations.
The table below presents wins and losses for the Big Four and top national accounting firms in Canada.
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MNP LLP led in number of wins, gaining 50 new clients while only losing 15, for a net increase of 35 new clients and 3 million in new audit fees. A close second was Dale Matheson with a net gain of 32 new clients. Not far behind, Davidson & Company won a net of 16 new clients, and UHY McGovern won a net of 13 new clients and 0.7 million in new audit fees.
Below are the changes for the top five audit firms as measured by the net audit fees gained:
PwC came in first with the powerhouse victory of gaining Arc Resources LTD.’s 0.8 million audit fees, a significant portion of their 4.5 million in new audit fees. MNP’s 50 client gains netted them 3 million in new audit fees. Despite losing a net of 17 clients, KPMG finished up third by gaining 2.6 million in new audit fees due primarily to the win of 1 million in audit fees from oil and natural gas company Baytex Energy Corp.
A breakdown detailing the leaders in audit firms this past year is also discussed by the Canadian Accountant.
Audit Analytics tracks audit fees, auditor changes, controls, and restatements for Canadian issuers, with the ability to create daily email alerts for new disclosures by industry, auditor, location, and more. Please contact Audit Analytics for an online demonstration or to learn more about these data sets. You can call us at (508) 476-7007 or e-mail info@auditanalytics.com.