Adler Group SA has found a small audit firm to vet its financial accounts after the embattled real estate firm failed for almost one and a half years to hire one.
Luxembourg-based
Adler only chose the small outfit because all the larger firms it had tried previously had turned down the mandate, Kirsten said. Adler will need to line up a few more companies to assist Avega given the firm's size, he said.
The real estate company has been trying to hire a new auditor since its previous one, KPMG,
KPMG's decision to drop Adler as a client came after it refused to give an opinion on the company's 2021 accounts and said its audit report on Adler's 2020 financial statements should no longer be relied on.
KPMG is a member of the so-called Big Four audit firms, a group that also includes Ernst & Young LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Deloitte. Its Luxembourg unit, which was in charge of auditing Adler, had 1,800 employees at the end of last year, according to its website.
The German auditing lobby IDW said last year that there had never been a comparable case where a listed company didn't have an auditor for such a long time.
The appointment of Avega as auditor will need to be approved by Adler's general meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Nov. 27.
