Accounting regulation “toothless”, say readers
HP's £5.5bn write-down following its acquisition of Autonomy exposes "toothless" accounting regulation, say readers
ACCOUNTING REGULATION is “toothless”, according to Accountancy Age readers, after HP’s £5.5bn write-down following its acquisition of Autonomy.
Of the 72 readers surveyed, 69% agreed more assertive regulation would have highlighted any accounting improprieties, while the remaining 31% felt better regulation would not have necessarily solved the problem.
Citi analysts criticised the way financial reporting is policed by the Financial Reporting Council, in response to allegations of disclosure failures at Autonomy, the former FTSE 100 technology business acquired by HP.
They laid some of the blame on the way annual reports and accounts are policed by the Financial Reporting Review Panel, an arm of the Financial Reporting Council.