Olympic Committee Appoints PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a multinational professional services network of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand.
Speaking at the 134th session of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, chairman of the audit committee Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant announced the committee’s recommendation to reappoint the Big Four firm.
The Olympic Committee is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss Civil Code.
The 134th session then approved the reappointment by show of hands.
In August 2018, the IOC invited Deloitte, EY, PwC and KPMG to submit their proposals in a closed tendering process, which were then assessed by a selection board.
Baron Beckers-Vieujant said the audit committee decided to only include the Big Four as it believed these firms were the only ones capable of delivering on expectations from a global point of view and in line with the IOC’s reputation.
He highlighted value for money and PwC’s commitment to reduce costs over the six-year term as key reasons supporting the choice – explaining that the Big Four firm had already offered to reduce costs in the first year from 402,000 Swiss francs to 391,000 Swiss francs.
PwC will serve a six-year term as the IOC audit committee wanted to align the appointment with the four-year Olympiad cycle.
He also noted that under Swiss law the firm has to be reappointed by vote on a yearly basis.
Last week, PwC was appointed auditor for pharmaceutical company Diurnal Group following a formal tender process and, pending shareholder confirmation the November AGM, will audit the company’s accounts for the year ended June 2020.