Boohoo auditor quits over corporate governance concerns

According to the Financial Times, PwC has resigned from the role it has held since 2014, dealing a fresh blow to the business as it seeks to bounce back from a damaging modern slavery scandal. 

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning, Boohoo said PwC was “still the group’s auditor at this time” but admitted that a tender process was under way to find a new auditor. 

Boohoo confirmed that PwC “is not participating in this process”. 

PwC declined to comment. 

Boohoo’s reputation has been battered following an investigation by The Guardian into working conditions at the Leicester factories operated by some of its suppliers. 

It found that some of the warehouses were failing to pay the minimum wage, with staff earning as little as £3.50 per hour in the worst cases.

An independent review of Boohoo’s supply chain, overseen by Alison Levitt QC, uncovered “many failings” in its work with garment manufacturers in Leicester and recommended a series of improvements to its corporate governance, compliance and monitoring processes.

Levitt concluded that Boohoo “did not deliberately allow poor conditions and low pay to exist within its supply chain, it did not intentionally profit from them and its business model is not founded on exploiting workers in Leicester”.

She added that the etailer had “already made a significant start on putting things right”.

Boohoo has pledged a series of reforms, such as publishing a full list of all the companies in its supply chain and using new ethical suppliers.

Earlier this month, it emerged that Boohoo had drafted in former Primark executive Andrew Reaney to the newly created role of responsible sourcing director as it ramps up those efforts.

But Boohoo remains at the centre of the controversy. Earlier this month, shadow health minister and MP for Leicester West Liz Kendall wrote to three of Boohoo’s largest investors, Jupiter, Invesco and Baillie Gifford, urging them to oust boss John Lyttle and chair Mahmud Kamani.