By Danny Wright
PricewaterhouseCoopers have quit as auditors of West Brom and aren’t the first ones to do so lately, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
PwC are one of the Big Four accounting firms in the world but they didn’t spend long auditing West Brom’s finances with it being the fourth time in seven years the Albion are in need of new auditors.
Maguire says it’s not uncommon for businesses to change auditors but the changes don’t usually happen at the rate we’re seeing at The Hawthorns.
The football finance author and podcaster admits it’s a concern to see PwC ending their ties with the Baggies
Speaking on the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast (22 September, 26m40s), Maguire said: “West Bromwich Albion’s auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers are one of the biggest accountant firms on the planet.
“They’ve quit as auditors of West Bromwich Albion.
“That’s the fourth time in the last seven years the auditors have quit.
“The whole point about being an auditor in the first place is about building up a relationship with an organisation and there is a case for saying you shouldn’t stay there too long.
“But equally, if you’re only there for a year or so you’re not becoming familiar with the organisation to really get your feet under the table.
“The purpose of the auditors is to effectively review the finances and to say whether or not, in their view as professionals, they show a true and fair view.
“For PwC to resign pretty quickly after being appointed – and not being the first people to do this – it’s a red flag.
“And also the finance director of West Brom (Lee Cooper) has left, he’s actually gone to Brighton. I don’t know whether he was head-hunted or whether he was looking for another job but their finance director has gone as well.”
Yet more issues
It feels as though something amiss crops up every week with the Albion lately.
And it’s usually always something going on behind the scenes, at board level or to do with the finances.
We’ll probably never know why PwC quit on West Brom as their auditors but what we do know, from Maguire’s verdict on the matter, is that Albion are burning through auditors at an abnormal rate.
Is this why the last set of accounts took so long to be published? Some clarity, at least, would be nice.
Ron Gourlay preached about how key communication was between the club and the fans when he was appointed by Lai as the new CEO earlier this year.
But there’s not really much difference now than there was prior to his arrival.
Gourlay’s most memorable communication with the club was saying there were no issues with the 2020/21 accounts, which sparked major outrage among the fans as they detailed how Lai had been using the club like a bank account.
Everything is a mess right now, on the pitch and off it.
It seemingly all boils down to Lai.
In other West Brom news, Albion are struggling to sell tickets for a match this weekend with fewer than 10,000 sold.