INDUSTRY ROTATION
Investec prepares for audit shift
Investec is engaging with various industry bodies to prepare for 2023 when listed companies will no longer be able to reappoint an audit firm that has served it for more than 10 consecutive years. Investec is the latest company listed on the JSE to register a substantial vote against the reappointment of its auditors, with the controversy-dogged KPMG notching up about 20% shareholder opposition to its reappointment. The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba), which imposed the 2023 cut-off, said voting at Investec’s annual general meeting (AGM) was in line with growing trends in the country. Since January 2017, when Irba started tracking audit firm rotations, 12% of JSE-listed firms have changed theirs. Irba CEO Bernard Agulhas said it was encouraging that one-third of those cited mandatory audit firm rotation as the reason for the change. He said if the pace continued, "we could ultimately see as much as 74% of JSE audits having rotated by 2020". A number of issues Invest...
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