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30 Jul 2010
A senior figure at Mazars has reiterated the need for reform to the audit market.
David Herbinet made his remarks in response to news from the House of Lords that a committee will investigate the audit market and whether auditors could have done more in the run up to the credit crisis.
Herbinet quotes research which showed that audits are only infrequently put out to tender.
In a letter to the Financial Times he wrote: "When the research was conducted, more than 70% of the FTSE 100 audits had not been subject to tender for at least 15 years. Moreover, 97% of FTSE 350 audits are held by just four firms. If this represents fierce competition, I would not like to see a stagnant market.
"A market with greater competition and choice would be in the public interest and serve shareholders better."
He said Mazars was "committed to pressing for reform".
Read more:
Practice Manager Blog: Eyewatering audit stats
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Visitor comments Add your comment
Joint Audits?
As an essentially French firm, Mazars will no doubt be making calls for joint audit appointments - as per the approach to audits in the French public interest market. I am not aware of any evidence that the French approach has resulted in audits of greater quality or led to greater competition in the audit market. In fact, the cost/benefit of joint audits is very questionable. Careful what you wish for Mazars!
Posted by: WTW, 31 Jul 2010 | 00:00