Barclays picks KPMG as first new auditor in 120 years

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) has picked KPMG as its first new auditor in 120 years after new rules encouraged a shake-up in Britain's auditing landscape.

KPMG will take over Barclays' auditing from 2017, the bank announced on Friday, having said last year that it would change from PwC.

Barclays has been audited by PwC since 1896 but the accountancy firm was not invited to join the tender process after big companies were told by Britain's competition watchdog to change their auditors more frequently to keep accountants on their toes.

Britain is making listed companies put out their audit work to tender every 10 years and the European Union is forcing them to change every 20 years.

Auditing Britain's big five banks is lucrative work. Barclays paid its auditors 44 million pounds ($68.8 million) last year

The complexity of big banks means that the handover of roles from one auditor to another can take two years.

Other banks are also changing auditors or looking to do so. (http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/uk-banks-auditors-britain-idUKBREA261AS20140307) ($1 = 0.6396 pounds) (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by David Goodman)