ICAEW calls on APB to reform rules
The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies has called on the Auditing Practices Board to revise its proposals on independence rules for smaller organisations.
Link: Ethical standards could force up SME audit costs
CCAB says the APB’s plans will lead to small and medium sized businesses facing higher costs for professional services.
The committee is also concerned that the APB has seriously underestimated the impact of these proposals on smaller companies.
The main objective of the APB’s proposed ethical standards for auditors aims to ensure that they are independent of the companies they audit by adhering to a set of principles and a number of detailed rules.
Neil Lerner, chairman of the CCAB Ethics Group, said: ‘These proposals are to be welcomed in the case of listed companies. However, the APB standards are proposed to be applied to all audits regardless of the size of the company audited. Auditors of many small and medium sized entities will find themselves having to react to checks and balances designed to operate in the context of larger audit firms and big companies.’