BREIT 2018 Proxy Statement

PROPOSAL 2 — RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM The Audit Committee has appointed the firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2018 and has directed that the appointment of such independent registered public accounting firm be submitted for ratification by our stockholders at the Annual Meeting. Deloitte also serves as the independent registered public accounting firm of Blackstone. We have been advised by Deloitte that neither that firm nor any of its associates has any relationship with us or our subsidiaries other than the usual relationship that exists between an independent registered public accounting firm and its clients. We expect that representatives of Deloitte will be present at the Annual Meeting, will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and will be available to respond to appropriate questions. If the appointment of Deloitte is not ratified, our Board of Directors will reconsider the appointment. Stockholder ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm is not required by our Charter or otherwise. Even if the appointment is ratified, our Audit Committee, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in our best interests. Audit and Non-Audit Fees Aggregate fees that we were billed for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 by our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte, were as follows: Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2016 Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017 Audit fees (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250,721 $1,404,000 Audit-related fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 476,000 Tax fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — — All other fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — — Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250,721 $1,880,000 (a) Audit fees include amounts billed to us related to annual financial statement audit work, acquisition audit work, quarterly financial statement reviews and review of SEC registration statements. (b) Audit-related fees include amounts billed to us for assurance and related services that traditionally are performed by independent auditors that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the financial statements, such as due diligence related to acquisition, attestation services that are not required by statute or regulation, internal control reviews, and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards.. The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors was advised that there were no services provided by Deloitte that were unrelated to the audit of the annual fiscal year-end financial statements and the review of interim financial statements that could impair Deloitte from maintaining its independence as our independent auditor and concluded that it was. Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures In accordance with our Audit Committee pre-approval policy, all audit and non-audit services performed for us by our independent registered public accounting firm were pre-approved by the Audit Committee of our Board 32