PwC audits Baltic Exchange dry bulk & container indices

Baltic Exchange Information Services Limited (BEISL) has published its latest independent assurance reports following its most recent audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

The independent audits, which are commissioned annually by the directors of BEISL, are conducted to ensure the way Baltic Exchange assesses ocean bulk and container markets remains robust and complies with the national and international regulations, guidelines, and principles it is required to adhere to. These include ensuring the controls are in place in response to the UK Benchmark Regulation, the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks, the IOSCO Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies, and Baltic Exchange’s own Guide to Market Benchmarks and Guide to Freightos Baltic Global Container Index.

The latest reports, which is the fifth annual cycle between BEISL and PwC for Ocean Bulk and the third cycle for Container Indices, include reasonable assurance opinions by PwC over the design and operating effectiveness of BEISL’s controls, throughout the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, for its market benchmark services, including data collection, systems and processes, calculations and publishing.

“Despite a period of uncertainty and volatility in both the ocean bulk and container markets, BEISL continued to provide reliable assessments to our users throughout 2024. Our latest set of audits from PwC continues to show that our data is audited, verifiable, and independent and that users have confidence that our indexes are developed following industry standards,” said Mark Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Baltic Exchange Limited.

“Baltic Exchange data is routinely used to settle physical and futures contracts, and the quality and validity of our data is a key foundation of our offering to our users. By once again partnering with PwC to assess our indexes, we continue to maintain our high standards and ensure our benchmarks are administered per industry requirements and best practice,” said Matthew Cox, Head of Benchmark Production at Baltic Exchange.

“We continue to believe that ensuring our methodology and controls are independently assessed by one of the world’s leading audit firms is in the best interest of our various stakeholders, partners, clients and users around the world,” he added.