Deloitte Anjin becomes new auditor for Samsung Electronics

By Jun Ji-hye

Deloitte Anjin, one of four major accounting firms here, has been designated as a new external auditor for Samsung Electronics in the auditor designation system run by financial authorities, according to industry officials Tuesday.

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which has long been hired by Samsung Electronics, will audit Shinhan Financial Group, while EY Han Young will audit KB Financial Group.

“It is true that we have been designated as a new auditor for Samsung Electronics, though we have yet to receive an official document,” a Deloitte Anjin official said.

The mandatory external auditor designation system, which will begin next year, is the highlight of the amended Act on External Audit of Stock Companies, which was introduced in 2017 after the 2015 accounting fraud case involving Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

The system, designed to ensure independent and fair accounting practices, requires companies to receive audits from external auditors as designated by the regulatory authority for a certain period of time, after they stay with the same accounting firm for six years.

Eyes are on whether Deloitte Anjin, which will audit the global tech giant Samsung Electronics, will be able to restore its reputation after being hit severely by its involvement in the accounting fraud of DSME.

Amid controversy over the accounting fraud, Deloitte Anjin has fallen to the fourth position from second among major accounting companies.

The Financial Supervisory Service has given an advance notice to companies and external auditors of the results of selection.

Companies and external auditors are required to submit their opinions to the Financial Supervisory Service within two weeks if they have objections.

The amended Act on External Audit of Stock Companies was introduced to correct a practice of Korean companies working with the same accounting firm for a long period of time, which has been partly blamed for corroborated cover-ups of financial troubles that later blow up in damaging losses for lenders and investors.