Item 4.01. Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant
(a) As previously disclosed, on August 2, 2015, PartnerRe Ltd. ("
PartnerRe
") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Exor N.V., Pillar Ltd. and, solely with respect to certain sections of the Merger Agreement, EXOR S.p.A. Upon the consummation of the merger of Pillar Ltd. with and into PartnerRe pursuant to the Merger Agreement, PartnerRe after careful deliberations has determined to dismiss its independent registered public accounting firm Deloitte Ltd. (“Deloitte”) in order for PartnerRe to have the same independent auditors as EXOR S.p.A. The Audit Committee approved the dismissal of Deloitte.
Accordingly, on March 24, 2016, PartnerRe engaged Ernst & Young Ltd. as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016, and dismissed Deloitte from that role on March 24, 2016.
The reports of Deloitte on the Company’s financial statements for each of the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015 did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively, and in the subsequent interim period through March 24, 2016, there were (i) no “disagreements” as that term is defined in Item 304 of Regulation S-K between the Company and Deloitte on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Deloitte, would have caused Deloitte to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in their reports on the financial statements for such years, and (ii) no "reportable events" as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K.
The Company provided Deloitte with a copy of the disclosures it is making in this Current Report on Form 8-K (the "Report") prior to the time the Report was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The Company requested that Deloitte furnish a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether or not it agrees with the statements made herein, and, if not, stating the respects in which it does not agree. A copy of Deloitte’s letter dated March 24, 2016 is attached as Exhibit 16.1 hereto.
(b) In deciding to engage Ernst & Young Ltd., the Board of PartnerRe reviewed auditor independence and existing commercial relationships with Ernst & Young Ltd. and concluded that Ernst & Young Ltd. has no commercial relationship with the Company that would impair its independence. During the two most recent fiscal years and in the subsequent interim period through March 24, 2016, neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf has consulted with Ernst & Young Ltd. with respect to the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that would have been rendered on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, or any other matters set forth in Item 304(a)(2) of Regulation S-K.
