Petrobras retains PwC as its independent auditor
Petrobras has signed on with independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. The decision to retain PwC as its auditing contractor was made by the Board of Directors of the oil company on Friday (Feb. 27). Petrobras has not disclosed the contract value.
PwC refused to sign the balance sheet for the third quarter 2014 posted by Petrobras on January 28. On that occasion, the Brazilian oil company explained that the results had not been reviewed by independent auditors, but it was still publishing the data in order to “comply with covenant obligations in debt agreements and to provide information access to the stakeholders and to the market, with transparency related to recent events known by the public in the context of the 'Lava Jato Operation' [a large kickback probe into the company].”
However, PwC said it would not review the financial report until all the losses resulting from wrongdoing in Petrobras were fully assessed. In her remarks in the Q3 report, Graça Foster, then CEO for Petrobras, told shareholders and investors that Petrobras had delayed disclosure of the balance sheet because of the facts and evidence emerging from Operation Car Wash.
Foster added that the testimony statements to which Petrobras had access revealed wrongdoing in the company's dealings, including contractor cartels and bribery of former associates, which means that payments to these suppliers had likely been misreported as part of the cost of fixed assets, and therefore needed adjustments. “We have concluded that it is impracticable to correctly quantify these improperly recognized values, since the payments were made by external suppliers and cannot be traced back to the company’s accounting records,” she explained back then.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Petrobras retains PwC as its independent auditor
