突发！安永某地削减审计业务|安永_新浪财经

来源：四大新鲜事儿

据美国《华尔街日报》报道，安永会计师事务所(Ernst & Young)表示，为了改进其审计业务，提高工作质量，它们正在切断与许多美国公众公司的审计客户关系。

研究公司Ideagen audit Analytics的数据显示，在2023年1月1日至今年8月15日期间，84家公众公司不再是安永的审计客户。在此期间，安永还新增了21名客户，公众公司客户净流失数为63家。与此形成对比的是，德勤、毕马威和普华永道同期分别净增了46家、13家和4家客户。

按市场份额计算，安永作为美国公众公司最大的审计公司的地位可能会受到客户减少和约2.15亿美元费用损失的威胁，但该公司目前还不担心这一点。

该公司负责保险业务的美洲副主席Dante D’egidio表示，减少审计客户很大程度上是有意为之，旨在“加速我们的转型努力”。安永表示，一家监管机构发现，该公司的审计缺陷率大幅上升，这促使该公司简化并改进了审计方法。

在分拆失败后，该公司希望在新的全球主席Janet Truncale的领导下统一员工队伍。Janet Truncale于2024年7月开始正式上任，她排除了重新启动分拆计划的可能性。

知情人士说，安永大约在18个月前开始了改革，包括放弃为某些公众公司的审计客户提供服务，并对新客户签约设置限制。

此前，公众公司会计监督委员会(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)根据对2021年财务报表的抽样审计发现，安永的审计缺陷率从上年的21%飙升至46%。这是美国四大会计师事务所中缺陷率最高的。

调查结果促使安永改进了其美国审计业务，重点是使其方法标准化，并建立集中的团队，就各种主题提供审计支持。

该公司去年11月表示，它还在改进部分审计方法和工具，并更新改进培训的方法。今年6月，安永表示，计划在三年内投资10亿美元，部分用于加强人工智能审计和税务平台，并提高美国初级员工薪酬。该公司此前并未表示此次调整涉及客户的精简。

但安永的审计问题还没有停止。美国证券交易委员会(SEC)的文件显示，网络解决方案提供商Infinera和供应链技术提供商Trimble等公司近几个月表示，它们的审计机构安永(EY)在PCAOB对审计工作的检查中发现了财务风险管理方面的问题。Infinera和Trimble均未表示将更换审计机构。两家公司没有回复记者的置评请求。

2024年8月15日，PCAOB发布了最新的财务审计检查报告。尽管安永的审计缺陷率较前一年有所下降，降为37%，但仍为“四大”中最高的。详见《刚刚，PCAOB公布对“四大”会计师事务所的专项检查报告（可下载）！》。

原文如下：

EY Sheds U.S. Audit Clients in Response to Shortfalls

The accounting firm, which has led market share in U.S. public-company auditing for the past decade, had 84 companies depart since the start of 2023, at least 50 more than at each of its Big Four peers

Ernst & Young said it is cutting ties with many U.S. public companies as audit clients, a move to revamp its audit practice and improve the quality of its work.

Eighty-four public companies exited EY as audit clients between Jan. 1, 2023, and Aug. 15 of this year, according to data from research firm Ideagen Audit Analytics. The firm also added 21 clients in that time. That is at least 50 departures more than at the other three large accounting firms—Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers—during the same period. In contrast with EY’s net loss of 63 clients, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC had net arrivals of 46, 13 and four, respectively, in that period.

Some of those clients include drugmaker Catalent, hydrogen truck maker Nikola, real-estate investment trust SL Green Realty, transportation software developer Verra Mobility, farm equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial, and business-software provider Bill Holdings.

The reduced roster and loss of roughly $215 million in fees could threaten EY’s status as the largest auditor of U.S. public companies by market share, but that isn’t something the firm is worried about yet.

The reduction is largely by design and is intended to “accelerate our transformation efforts,” said Dante D’Egidio, the firm’s Americas vice chair for assurance. A regulator found that EY’s rate of audit shortfalls, or deficiencies, had soared, leading the firm to simplify and improve its approach, the firm has said.

For the past couple of years, EY has navigated several challenges. The U.S. unit laid off partners across its business lines amid slowing demand for certain consulting services, and played a key role in the blowup of plans to globally split the auditing and consulting sides of the business into two different companies. Following the scuttled split, the firm has sought to unify its workforce under a new global chair, Janet Truncale, who started in the role in July and ruled out reviving plans for a split.

EY began the revamp, including resigning from serving certain public-company audit clients and limiting new clients, roughly 18 months ago, people familiar with the matter said.

The move came after the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board found the rate of EY’s auditing deficiencies, based on a sampling of audits of 2021 financial statements, surged to 46% from 21% in the previous year. It was the highest deficiency rate among the Big Four in the U.S.

The findings led EY to revamp its U.S. audit practice, focusing on standardizing its approach and building centralized teams to provide audit support on various topics.

The firm last November said it was also enhancing portions of its audit methodology and tools and refreshing its approach to improve training. In June, EY said it planned to invest $1 billion over three years in part to strengthen artificial intelligence-enabled audit and tax platforms and lift U.S. early-career compensation. The firm hadn’t previously said the overhaul involved these client reductions.

But EY’s audit issues haven’t stopped yet. Companies such as networking solutions provider Infinera and supply-chain technology provider Trimble in recent months said their auditor, EY, identified issues in managing financial risks during the PCAOB inspection of the audit work rather than during the audit itself, according to SEC filings. Neither Infinera nor Trimble has said it is changing auditors. The companies didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“Those companies wanted to be transparent with investors and explain why they reported issues outside of the standard reporting cycle so they voluntarily provided disclosure,” said Olga Usvyatsky, an accounting researcher.

Last week, the PCAOB issued the latest inspection reports for audits of financials. Again, EY had the highest deficiency rate of 37% among the Big Four, though it was lower than the previous year.

（转自：四大新鲜事儿）