Its council bought more time to continue lobbying for change by voting to delegate negotiation and approval of the controversial Auditing Practices Board rules, which aim to separate audit from general business advice.

Council members told Accountancy Age that a straight vote would probably have been defeated, sparking a major diplomatic incident.

Hopes now rest on a working group to prevent an escalation of the stand-off over the APB's maiden foray into ethical standard setting.

Council member Ian Cherry said last week's decision was 'absolutely the right thing'. 'I have been lobbied by practitioners in my region who regard these issues as critical,' he said.

During a heated debate, members calling for a rescheduling of the full vote were warned it could risk 'Armageddon' by putting the institute in breach of an agreement to promulgate APB pronouncements. A decision must be taken by 8 January.