Rayonier Appoints KPMG as Independent Auditor, Replacing Ernst & Young

Rayonier's audit committee handed KPMG its first engagement with the timber REIT on March 12, 2026, dismissing Ernst & Young LLP and appointing KPMG LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for the company's fiscal year 2026 audit in a single day's action. The move came roughly six weeks after Rayonier closed its merger with PotlatchDeltic Corporation on January 30, 2026, and KPMG's prior role as PotlatchDeltic's auditor is the clearest thread connecting the two events.

The company disclosed the switch in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, publicly available on March 18. Rayonier took care to satisfy the SEC's standard disclosure requirements under Item 4.01, stating that EY's audit reports on Rayonier's financial statements for fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 contained no adverse opinions, no disclaimers of opinion, and no modifications related to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles. The filing further stated that during those two fiscal years and the interim period through March 12, 2026, Rayonier and EY had no disagreements on accounting principles, financial statement disclosure, or audit procedures, and that no reportable events as defined by SEC regulations occurred.

On the KPMG side, the company addressed the question of pre-engagement contact directly. Rayonier stated that neither the company nor its representatives consulted with KPMG on the application of accounting principles or audit opinions before the engagement, nor on any matter that would have constituted a disagreement or reportable event. That statement extends to the period before the PotlatchDeltic merger closed: although KPMG had served as PotlatchDeltic's auditor, Rayonier said there were no relevant consultations with KPMG regarding Rayonier's own financial matters during that time.

Ernst & Young confirmed those characterizations in a letter dated March 18, 2026, included as an exhibit to the 8-K, in which EY stated its agreement with Rayonier's disclosures.

For KPMG audit professionals, the engagement illustrates a pattern that frequently follows large mergers in the REIT and natural resources space: when two companies with different auditors combine, one firm tends to follow the surviving entity and the other picks up work it didn't previously hold. Rayonier (NYSE: RYN) is a North Carolina-incorporated timber REIT with a related limited partnership entity, Rayonier, L.P., organized in Delaware, both named in the 8-K filing. The scope disclosed covers the fiscal year 2026 audit, with no terms, fees, or multi-year arrangement detailed in the public filing.

The 8-K listed no reason for EY's dismissal beyond the audit committee's formal approval, and no Rayonier executive or committee member provided a statement beyond the Item 4.01 regulatory language. What the filing does establish is a clean transition: no disputes, no qualified opinions in the two prior audit cycles, and a new engagement that traces its logic, at least in part, to the PotlatchDeltic deal that reshaped the company at the start of the year.