In a brief statement this morning, Apple announced that it has adopted a new auditor policy which effectively prevents its auditors from doing non-financial consulting, such as information technology consulting or internal audit services.
Noting that Apple’s board of directors’ own audit committee has always been vigilant in this regard, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that Apple wanted to “go a step further and make it crystal clear to our shareholders.”
Apple said that its auditors will continue to perform financial consulting in areas like audits of statutory filings of foreign subsidiaries, 401-K audits, SEC registrations, and tax compliance and planning.
“The Audit and Finance Committee of Apple’s Board of Directors will continue its current practice of reviewing the non-audit services that Apple’s auditors are engaged to perform, to ensure that the work does not compromise the auditors’ independence in performing their audit services,” said the company.