Sharman calls for regulator shake up
One of the accountancy world's most senior figures has called for a radical shakeup of the auditing profession, including a totally independent regulator.
Writing in The Times today, Lord Sharman said it was no longer acceptable for the key regulatory body to be funded by the very firms it seeks to regulate.
‘The big firms and the profession’s institute must insist that the Government funds and oversees regulation,’ the former KPMG senior partner said.
‘We must move to eradicate any notion that he who pays the piper calls the tune,’ he added.
Sharman also called for the compulsory rotation of audit partners every five years, though refused to back rotation of audit firms.
And he demanded all firms that audit publicly quoted companies should publish full accounts and reveal the total fees earned from their top five clients plus list any client that provides more than five percent of total income.
Sharman even went as far as to say these figures should apply to individual offices to avoid the Enron-Houston effect.