Price Waterhouse & Co Chartered Accountants LLP, a network firm of PwC India, has resigned as the statutory auditor of Eveready Industries citing reservations on certain inter-group transactions that promoter group has made during the financial year 2019, the latter said in an exchange filing.
As per the filing, Mumbai-based Singhi & Co has been appointed as the new auditor for Eveready with effect from June 29, 2019.
According to the auditor's report attached with the March quarter's financial result, PwC had sought details of certain deposits and questioned Eveready about how the company wishes to recover these.
The company had raised questions around Rs 62 crore in advances given to a lease hold company. “Neither the deed has been executed nor the refund claimed,” PwC clarified in the audit report.
Further, on May 27, 2019, PwC in a report said Eveready had extended inter-corporate deposits and corporate guarantees to promoter group companies. As of March 2019, the amount of inter-corporate deposits and corporate guarantees stood at Rs 230.8 crore and Rs 283.1 crore, respectively.
PwC said they are unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence regarding the extent of the loss allowance or impairment to be recognised on the aforesaid liabilities and the consequential impact on the standalone financial statements for FY19.
The resignation comes weeks after PwC resigned as auditor of Reliance Capital and Reliance Home Finance.
