Grant Thornton Taiyo LLC and YUSEI Audit & Co. have reached a basic agreement to begin discussions toward a merger on July 1, 2018.
In recent years, the Japanese government, corporations and auditing firms have been forging ahead with various reforms aimed at the audit industry such as a new governance code for auditing firms and enhanced auditor reporting requirements. Under this new environment, we strongly believe it is vital to further invest in training for a global workforce, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development, and the strengthening of our overseas network in order to sustainably improve audit quality going forward.
Through this merger, we aim at reaching a new stage. To realize this objective, we shall proactively pursue enhancement of our internal policies and processes, and use our expanded scale to bolster our business platform and our ability to influence our global network of firms.
Upon completion of the proposed merger, our new audit firm will be strong of 800 professionals and serve about 200 listed clients. As we enter the final stages to conclude the merger agreement, we intend to maintain swift and flexible operations while establishing effective governance in line with our expanded scale.
We sincerely ask for your understanding of the goals of this merger and your continued support.
