(Alliance News) - Burford Capital Ltd on Wednesday appointed KPMG LLP as its new auditor, replacing Ernst & Young LLP.

The litigation finance provider with offices in London, New York and elsewhere said E&Y, which has been Burford's auditor since 2010, had been dismissed following release of first-half results to June 30.

Burford said it was "conscious of shareholder feedback about best practices in the UK market", and felt now was an "appropriate moment" to abide by those best practices and move to another 'Big Four' accounting firm.

KPMG's appointment is subject to approval at an emergency general meeting of shareholders.

Burford noted E&Y had, for the financial years 2022 and 2023, identified certain material weaknesses in Burford's internal controls.

These related, first, to a lack of available evidence to demonstrate the precision of management's review of certain assumptions used in the measurement of the fair value of capital provision assets.

Second, they related to the determination of Burford's approach to measure the fair value of capital provision assets in accordance with accounting standards.

Burford's audit committee discussed these "reportable events" with E&Y, and has authorized E&Y to respond fully to the inquiries of KPMG, as successor auditor, concerning them.

Shares in Burford Capital rose 1.9% to 1,029.00 pence in London on Wednesday.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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