NZSA Policy Statements

Background

It is important that the Key Audit Partner and the Audit Firm are rotated from time to time. This is to ensure;

• Fresh eyes are bought to the audit process.
• The Auditor is not captured by the Board, CEO and senior management
• In addition, the Board should be seeking competitive quotes for the Audit fee to ensure that whilst the process is conducted to the highest standards, the shareholders are paying a reasonable fee for the work.

NZSA Position.

Listing Rule 2.13.3(f) requires that the key audit partner is changed at least every 5 years.
We believe the Audit Firm should be changed at least after 2 lead audit partner rotations so at least every 10 years. We do not believe this is an unrealistic expectation.
We also expect companies to disclose the dates of appointment of the current key audit partner and audit firm in their Annual Report.

July 2018