Accounting firms finalise new non-executive roles

The UK’s eight largest accounting firms are in the final stages of selecting their non-executives, as the deadline approaches to meet the requirements of the landmark audit governance code released in February.

The firms have spent the last four months interviewing possible non-executives following the release of the governance code which was produced by the profession and aimed at providing stability to the industry.

PwC said its plans were well advanced with the company expecting to name three new appointments shortly. The non-executives will sit on a new public interest body – a third oversight board to sit alongside the accounting firm’s existing two boards.

Richard Sexton, head of Assurance at PwC, said the new board would “further underpin public confidence in the work we do as an auditors”.

“The new governance code and creation of the new board will allow us to build further on the extensive information that we already provide in our annual report and separate transparency report," he said.

The code applies to financial years commencing on or after 1 June.

Further reading:

Audit Firm Governance Code launched

Governance code for audit firms released by ICAEW