Analysis: FRC's Haddrill at the Treasury select commmittee

The Financial Reporting Council’s new chief executive made his debut before the Treasury Select committee yesterday and received a grilling on the issues that are likely to dominate the FRC’s agenda in the coming year.

Committee members, looking into the role of audit and accounting in the banking crisis, expressed concern that audit firms were beginning to ‘move back into consultancy’.

Challenged by committee member Jim Cousins MP, Stephen Haddrill was pressed to explain why some Big Four firms were affirming in public their desire to grow their non-audit fees.

Cousins claimed KPMG had said it wanted to treble its consultancy fees to £600m. Haddrill told Cousins that he assumed the firms would be seeking to grow their non-audit fees in general, but would not be doing that with their audit clients.

Committee members, looking into the role of audit and accounting in the banking crisis, expressed concern that audit firms were beginning to ‘move back into consultancy’.

Challenged by committee member Jim Cousins MP, Stephen Haddrill was pressed to explain why some Big Four firms were affirming in public their desire to grow their non-audit fees.

Cousins claimed KPMG had said it wanted to treble its consultancy fees to £600m. Haddrill told Cousins that he assumed the firms would be seeking to grow their non-audit fees in general, but would not be doing that with their audit clients.