When Mike Ashley was trying to find a new auditor for his battered Sports Direct retail empire last year, it took months of hunting before one firm stepped up. For RSM, seventh-largest auditor in the UK, taking on the tracksuit tycoon’s creaking business was a calculated risk. Larger rivals KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and EY had shunned Ashley after Grant Thornton quit in August amid governance and trading fears. Sports Direct’s shares had crashed to 214p — their lowest in nearly a decade — and its much-delayed annual report containing the shock news of a £605m tax bill from Belgian authorities had just been published. But for RSM, its appointment in October was a chance to break into the FTSE 350 and poach clients from its big rivals.…

Source: The Times January 12, 2020 00:03 UTC