VODAFONE and PwC have both strongly refuted claims made by Standard Life Investments (SLI) that the latter should no longer act as the phone giant’s auditor because of a potential conflict of interests.
Although PwC was ultimately reappointed, the asset manager’s governance and stewardship director Deborah Gilshan told Vodafone’s AGM, which was held in London yesterday, that it had voted against PwC’s reappointment on behalf of its clients.
SLI controls 465 million Vodafone shares across its fund range.
The reason, she said, was that PwC had been appointed as administrator of Phones4U, which is believed to be considering litigation against Vodafone in relation to alleged collusion in its demise.
“In our opinion, the appointment of PwC as administrators to this company after their appointment as auditors of Vodafone created a conflict, regardless of whether litigation against Vodafone is pursued,” Ms Gilshan said.
However, a spokesman for PwC said that the business adheres “strictly to all regulatory professional and ethical standards”.
“As with all administrations, appropriate action is taken to deal with conflicts, real and perceived,” he added.
Vodafone, which was praised by SLI for noting the potential conflict in its annual report, said it was comfortable with continuing with PwC because “both PwC teams are entirely physically separate, and have no interactions whatsoever”.
Shareholders ultimately supported the reappointment, with 65.32 per cent of those who voted giving it their backing.
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