Oceana is hoping to quickly hire new external auditors following the sudden departure of PwC, but analysts say the acrimonious nature of the split could deter other audit firms from stepping into the breach.

The PwC shock came hard on the heels of other challenges faced by the JSE-listed fishing group, which owns the Lucky Star brand, in recent months:  a forensic probe related largely to accounting issues at its US business and an ongoing investigation by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) into whether it made false and misleading statements...