The Centre for Public Interest Audit (CPIA), a new organisation that will bring together auditors from across the profession to shape best practice and inform the future of public interest entity (PIE) audit in the UK, today announced its incorporation as a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee.
The CPIA’s ambition is to act as a standalone voice on behalf of all PIE auditors, providing a profession-wide perspective on current and future practice, alongside clear-cut recommendations of areas for development and improvement.
The CPIA’s membership welcomes the full spectrum of UK PIE auditors as well as The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The CPIA intends to launch the findings of its inaugural research on the current state, and future, of PIE audit later this year.
“Confidence in financial reporting is key to investment and growth, so ICAEW has come together with other parts of the profession to establish the Centre for Public Interest Audit, an independent body with the missions of driving best practice and working for greater resilience in the Public Interest Entity audit market,” a statement from the ICAEW said.
“We look forward to seeing the CPIA work alongside ARGA (the new regulator confirmed in last week’s King’s Speech) to deliver both higher quality and greater resilience in the UK PIE audit market. ”
The CPIA also announced the appointment of Baroness Margaret Ford of Cunninghame, to the role of Chair, effective as of 22 July.
City veteran Baroness Ford has a background of more than 25 years as a Non-Executive Director and Chair across private and publicly listed companies, as well as government bodies and has recently acted as independent non-executive Chair for the Deloitte Audit Governance Board, as well as Chair of Newriver REIT and STV Group plc. She is currently Chair of London Gatwick Airport. Baroness Ford sits as a crossbench peer in the UK House of Lords.
Baroness Ford’s breadth of expertise as a steward of the public interest makes her an ideal leader to help steer the CPIA toward its goal of supporting improvements to the quality of PIE audits and building trust in the UK’s capital markets.
“Audit and assurance plays a critical role in the UK’s capital markets and the importance of tackling the most challenging areas of the industry cannot be underestimated. Our ambition is to proactively identify both shortcomings and best practice in public interest entity audit to support a more robust, resilient, forward-looking profession, delivering value for and enabling confidence among all stakeholders,” she said.
Ford noted the CPIA’s mission aligns with the UK government’s aim to strengthen regulatory powers and improve public entity audit quality via its upcoming Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill.
“The CPIA will look to be a supportive and constructive partner to the FRC as their remit transitions. I look forward to working closely with the CPIA’s Board and members to advance its goal of driving quality and trust in UK PIE audit, in turn helping to build confidence in the UK as a centre of financial excellence,” she said.