CHH opts for single auditor

Carter Holt Harvey has dumped one of its auditors to strengthen corporate governance.

The company, which has used two auditors since 1996, said yesterday that Deloitte would be its sole auditor for the 2005 financial year, dropping Ernst & Young.

In 2003, Carter Holt paid the accounting firms $1 million each for auditing work. It also paid "other fees" of $1.07 million to Ernst & Young and $472,000 to Deloitte.

Spokesman David Jamieson said the change stemmed from Carter Holt's need to separate auditing from consulting work done by the accounting firms.

It hoped to use Ernst & Young for consultancy accounting work in tax, due diligence and regulatory areas.

US firm International Paper, which owns 50.5 per cent of Carter Holt, also uses Deloitte as its sole external auditor.