Spate of auditor resignations showing signs of tapering, shows data

45 mid-term cessations since August last year, but only nine since January

The people engaged to ensure that companies’ financial statements are accurate and above board resigned in large numbers around this time last year. Such auditor resignations seem to have tapered off a year later.

There had been sixteen mid-term cessations in August 2019. There have only been two in August 2020 so far, shows data from corporate tracker primeinfobase.com. The rolling three-month average number has declined from as many as nine last year to one or less in recent months (see chart).

A mix of more stringent regulation and auditors being more careful in vetting companies before signing on may