Grant Thornton questions timing of FRC audit paper

Grant Thornton, has
‘cautiously
welcomed’ the Financial Reporting
Council’s paper on promoting audit quality but questioned the timing chosen
for its publication.

The firm argued that any new industry measures should be in the form of
guidance and not prescriptive.

‘The FRC’s paper entitled ‘Promoting Audit Quality’ provides a sound analysis
of the factors that can impact quality in the audit market,’ said Steve Maslin,
head of external professional affairs at Grant Thornton.

However, Maslin questioned the FRC’s failure to indicate how it intended
using the results of the consultation.

‘We are slightly puzzled as to the industry context in which this is
delivered given all current evidence pointing to widespread confidence in UK
capital markets and auditing. We would favour any product deriving from this
paper being guidance rather than rules, and based on actual research – the
market will simply not welcome any more box-ticking exercises,’ he added.

Further reading:

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FRC proposes governance changes

FRC proposes funding plan for IASB