Shell Plc has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its new external auditor to take over from Ernst & Young (EY) beginning with the 2027 financial year, following a competitive tender process.
The oil and gas major confirmed the decision on Friday, marking the end of EY’s long-standing audit role with the company. The change comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny of EY’s audit work for Shell.
In December, Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced it had opened an investigation into EY’s audit of Shell’s 2024 financial statements, citing potential breaches of audit partner rotation rules. Under existing regulations, audit firms are required to rotate their lead audit partners every five to seven years to safeguard independence.
Shell had earlier disclosed in a July regulatory filing that EY breached these rotation requirements. The company said it would amend its 2023 and 2024 annual reports to reflect non-compliance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules on audit partner rotation, although it stressed that the underlying financial statements would remain unchanged.
External Auditor Search
Responding to questions on the auditor switch, Shell said its Audit and Risk Committee initiated a tender process using the same selection criteria applied during its 2024 audit review. These included auditor independence, team composition, audit scope, and regulatory compliance.
The appointment of PwC positions the firm as one of the key professional services providers to Shell as the energy company continues to navigate tighter regulatory oversight and growing scrutiny of corporate governance standards.
