VATICAN CITY
Reuters
The Vatican said on Saturday it had ordered the first external audit of its assets as part of a drive by Pope Francis to bring transparency to its finances where millions of euros have gone unrecorded without any central oversight.
Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi said auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers [PWC.UL] would start work immediately.
The pope has promised to overhaul the Vatican’s murky financial management, which have been hit by repeated scandals in recent years, however he has met resistance from Church officials who want to maintain tight control over operations.
Lombardi told reporters that the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy had called on PwC, the world’s second-largest audit firm by revenue, to review the Vatican’s consolidated financial statements, which includes assets, income and expenses.
The decision to work with one of the world’s top four auditors continued “the implementation of new financial management policies and practices in line with international standards,” he said.
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