41061 Unite AR22 HI-RES WEB-READY - Flipbook - Page 126
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THE UNITE GROUP PLC | Annual Report and Financial Statements 2022
AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE continued
Independence and external audit tender
Non-audit services
The Audit & Risk Committee considers the re-appointment
of the external auditor (including the rotation of the audit
partner which is required every five years) each year and
also assesses its independence on an ongoing basis. 2022 is
the eighth year during which Deloitte has been the Group’s
external auditor.
To further safeguard the objectivity and independence
of the external auditor from becoming compromised, the
Committee has a formal policy governing the engagement
of the external auditor to provide non-audit services. No
material changes have been made to this policy during
the year. This precludes Deloitte from providing certain
services, such as valuation work or the provision of
accounting services.
The Audit & Risk Committee reviewed Deloitte’s audit
work and determined that appropriate plans are in place
to carry out an effective and high quality audit. Deloitte
confirmed to the Audit & Risk Committee that it maintained
appropriate internal safeguards to ensure its independence
and objectivity. As part of the Audit & Risk Committee’s
assessment of the ongoing independence of the auditor, the
Audit & Risk Committee receives details of any relationships
between the Group and Deloitte that may have a bearing on
their independence and receives confirmation that they are
independent of the Group.
As discussed above, the Committee undertook an
assessment of Deloitte’s effectiveness, its processes, audit
quality and performance in May 2022 following completion
of the 2021 audit.
The Audit & Risk Committee also regularly considers when
it next intends to complete a competitive tender process
for the Company’s external audit. As noted above, the
Audit & Risk Committee remains satisfied with Deloitte’s
effectiveness and independence. In view of this, the Audit
& Risk Committee does not currently anticipate that it
will conduct an audit tender before 2024 in respect of the
2025 financial year for which a tender would be required in
accordance with applicable law and regulations. The Audit &
Risk Committee considers this to be in the best interests of
the Company’s shareholders for the reasons outlined above
and will keep this decision under review.
The Committee confirms compliance with the provisions of
the Statutory Audit Services for Large Companies Market
Investigation (Mandatory Use of Competitive Tender
Processes and Audit & Risk Committee Responsibilities)
Order 2014.
For certain specific permitted services (such as reporting
accountant activities and compliance work), the Audit & Risk
Committee has pre-approved that Deloitte can be engaged
by management, subject to the policies set out above, and
subject to specified fee limits for individual engagements
and fee limits for each type of specific service. For all other
services, or those permitted services that exceed the
specified fee limits, I as Chair, or in my absence, another
member, can pre-approve permitted services.
During the year, Deloitte was appointed to undertake
non-audit services. Fees for non-audit work performed
by Deloitte for the year ended 31 December 2022 were
£0.1 million (2021: £0.1 million). The non-audit fees related
to the work undertaken by Deloitte LLP in its role as
external auditor to the Group for the review of the half-year
report. Further disclosure of the non-audit fees incurred
during the year ended 31 December 2022 can be found in
note 2.6 to the consolidated financial statements on page
200. Accordingly, the Audit & Risk Committee was satisfied
that both the work performed by Deloitte LLP, and the level
of non-audit fees paid to it, were appropriate and did not
raise any concerns in terms of Deloitte LLP’s independence
as auditor to the Group.
The Audit & Risk Committee approved the fees for audit
services for 2022 after a review of the level and nature
of work to be performed, including additional audit
procedures required as a result of changes in the regulatory
environment, and after being satisfied by Deloitte that the
fees were appropriate for the scope of the work required.
Audit & Risk Committee evaluation
The Audit & Risk Committee’s activities formed part
of the evaluation of Board effectiveness performed
in the year. Details of this process can be found under
“Performance evaluation”.
Ross Paterson
Chair – Audit & Risk Committee
28 February 2023
