Finance Expert: Another issue added to pile at West Brom as new auditors needed
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive West Brom columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns...
West Brom fans have another little thing to worry about, according to Daniel Plumley, with the Black Country reportedly seeking a new auditor.
The Athletic journalist Matt Slater reported on 12 September that PricewaterhouseCoopers, who had been doing Albion’s books since 2018, won’t be doing so anymore after the delayed publication of the 2020/21 accounts.
West Brom have failed to reveal who PwC’s replacement is and The Athletic claims “usual practice” is that they should be named “within 28 days of the most recent accounts’ publication, which was June 30”.
Either way, PwC’s successor will be the Baggies’ fourth auditor in seven years.
While Plumley isn’t too sure how many auditors football clubs usually use, he feels that this is yet another issue to add to the pile relating to the way West Brom are being run right now.
Speaking to West Brom News, Plumley said: “I don’t have any evidence to suggest what the turnover of auditors is at football clubs but it’s not a usual practice [to change auditors that often] in the industry.
“Auditor arrangements tend to be a few years, at least, unless you want to go with a big structural change.
“It’s one of those where you are clutching for straws for the reasons behind it. But from the outside looking in, with all the turmoil surrounding finances, ownership and fan unrest, there’s just something else there to latch onto and ask, ‘what’s going on at this club?’.
“That’s the challenge when you have all those things up, there’s a bigger picture so it’s going to put focus on what’s happening at the ownership level. It’s another little thing to add to the list.”
In the accounts that were released at the end of June, it was revealed that Albion owner Guochuan Lai took a £4.95million loan out of the club – with interest fixed at just £50,000 – to help out another one of his business ventures.
One repayment date has already been missed by Lai, who made himself West Brom chairman earlier this year, has said that the money will be back in the club’s bank in time to be spent in the January transfer window.
In other West Brom news, Albion are struggling to sell tickets for a match this weekend with fewer than 10,000 sold.