Las Vegas Sands Breaks Ties with PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Posted on: May 3, 2013, 05:10h. 

Last updated on: May 3, 2013, 12:59h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

Following dissatisfaction and an uneasy feeling towards the Las Vegas Sands Corporation’s ongoing legal issues, PricerwaterhouseCoopers has resigned as the official auditor of the casino empire, ending a partnership which spanned 25 years in the industry.

No Reason Given

The Wall Street Journal reports that PricewaterhouseCoopers recorded no official reason for cutting ties with its long-standing partner in its Securities and Exchange Commission filing, but people familiar with the issue gave the impression that PricewaterhouseCoopers was no longer able to take the demands and challenging demeanor of Sheldon Adelson, Sands CEO, which resulted in the deterioration of the relationship between the two businesses.

The current legal issues surrounding Las Vegas Sands Corp., including a U.S. federal investigation into possible violations of money laundering and bribery laws,  might also have been a key issue in the decision of PricewaterhouseCoopers to break ties. The recent disclosure from Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s audit committee that violations of books, records and internal control provisions were likely, would have also impacted the firm’s decision to resign from its position as official auditor to the company.

“These are relationships that evolve over time,” explained Ron Reese, spokesman for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “In business, these types of situations are a fact of life,” he added.

Hong Kong Says “So Long” Too

But the decision isn’t geographically limited, as PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong has also made the decision to cut ties with Sands China as its official auditor in a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stating that it would be impractical to continue acting as auditor to the firm after its parent company’s decision to end its partnership with Las Vegas Sands Corp.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has informed Las Vegas Sands Corporation that they will not be seeking any future partnerships with the firm, and the gaming conglomerate is now itself looking for a new auditor to build a business relationship with as it moves forward.

While the two companies each benefited from their long-term partnership over the years, it does appear that like many relationships, this has simply run its course and at least one of the two firms are better off going their separate ways, seeking out new and more fruitful relationships which are better suited to them.