What is a Predecessor Auditor?

A predecessor auditor is an auditor who conducted the audit for a client in prior periods, but who no longer does so. This situation arises in any of the following circumstances:

The client has notified the auditor that his or her contract will not be renewed for future audits. This can be due to any number of disagreements between the client and the auditor.
The auditor has resigned from the engagement. This is usually because the auditor has experienced so much difficulty with the client that it cannot continue with the audit work.
The auditor has declined to return for the next audit. This may be due to the auditor wanting to concentrate its auditing services on a different type of client, or perhaps because it has experiences difficulties in dealing with the client.
The auditor did not complete the prior audit engagement. This may be due to restrictions placed on the auditor by the client, to the point where the auditor did not find it possible to complete the engagement.

When a successor auditor is appointed to an audit engagement, the successor may need to communicate with the predecessor auditor regarding various issues that are then incorporated into the successor's audit. If so, the successor auditor will need the client’s permission to discuss matters with the predecessor auditor.