ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss power transmission and industrial automation company ABB plans to switch auditors to KPMG from Ernst & Young, it said on Monday.
"This decision was taken following a year-long comprehensive external auditor tender process initiated in 2016 in line with international good governance practices," ABB said in a statement. "The proposal is subject to shareholder approval at ABB's 2018 annual general meeting."
It follows a fraud scandal for ABB in South Korea, which exposed a failure to maintain effective financial controls. EY, ABB's sole external auditor since 2001, concluded ABB had not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting.
However, an ABB spokesman said the situation in Korea did not influence the company's decision to switch auditors, a process which was launched beforehand.
The decision was down to corporate governance reasons, the spokesman said, after EY had served as its auditor for more than 10 years.
