The regulator's plan to publish individual audit reports is 'right and appropriate,' one senior Big Four figure said this week.
Others also backed the proposal, with some reservations about what the reports will contain.
Peter Wyman, head of professional affairs at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: 'We've reached the stage where something along the lines of what they're proposing is right and appropriate.
'I do think that it is important that a proper reflection of what the AIU has found, finds its way into the report. Most people don't read such things and then it gets much attention when a report then comes out. So it does need to be balanced and proportionate.'
KPMG's head of audit, Richard Bennison, said: 'Generally I think we accept that there has to be some enhanced disclosure of what the AIU is doing and finding on individual firms. The key is in the reporting. My concern is that if it is all negative without too much balance about the positives of what a firm does, it will have a counter-reaction in the market.'
Martyn Jones, a Deloitte partner, said: 'Clearly what they're trying to do is put in place a response to that part of companies act which extends the scope of the Freedom of Information Act. A matter that is very important for firms is that the reporting is balanced, so that it can highlight the features of the audit firms, giving proper weight to the good things that the firms do by way of developing the right approach to promoting audit quality.'
Wyman added that the legal issue would be complicated: ''I sincerely hope we don’t have to end up using laywers. It would suggest the professional relationship with the AIU has not worked.'
Jones said: 'We haven't; and haven't needed to use lawyers for this process in the past. We take the view that the process will be constructive, as always, and will be helpful in enabling firms to continually challenge the nature of their audit processes. It looks like we're moving into an area in which much more transparency is taking place and we have to have constructive relations with the AIU, which is important to having full and frank regulation.'
E&Y has not as yet offered any public comment on the moves.
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