Shell has confirmed that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will become the company’s auditor, replacing Ernst & Young (EY) in 2027. The appointment follows a formal tender process, the oil major said in its announcement.
The timing of the change is linked to an ongoing review by Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The FRC launched an investigation in December into EY’s audit of Shell’s 2024 financial statements, specifically examining whether rules governing audit partner rotation were observed.
Shell previously informed regulators in a filing last July that there had been a breach of the rules requiring listed companies to rotate lead audit partners every five to seven years and to enforce cooling-off periods before those partners can resume work on the same client. That disclosure noted a procedural failure in partner rotation.
In the same regulatory filing, Shell said it would need to amend its 2023 and 2024 annual reports because EY had failed to comply with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules on partner rotation. Shell emphasized that, despite the need for those amendments, the underlying financial statements themselves would remain unchanged.
The appointment of PwC concludes the company’s tender to select a new auditor and establishes a transition point in 2027 when PwC will assume statutory audit responsibilities. Shell’s public statements have tied the change to the regulatory review and the earlier disclosure about partner-rotation breaches.
For stakeholders in the energy sector and participants in financial markets, the developments center on corporate governance, audit oversight and regulatory compliance. Shell’s disclosures and the FRC inquiry underscore the procedural aspects of audit engagement rules rather than alterations to reported financial results.
At present, the matter involves an active regulatory inquiry and planned amendments to prior annual reports, with the company maintaining that its financial statements are not affected. The selection of PwC sets out a clear timetable for the audit transition while the regulatory process continues to run its course.