ACCA disappointed with government proposals
Government proposals to restore confidence in financial statements and auditing 'fail to grasp several important nettles', says the ACCA.
Responding to the interim report presented by trade minister Patricia Hewitt this afternoon, ACCA said it was disappointed at the lack of a clear line on the provision of non-audit services to audit clients, audit firm rotation and remuneration of listed company audit committees.
ACCA said its views were reflected more in the Treasury select committee report issued yesterday than the proposals announced by Hewitt this afternoon.
Click here to read about the Treasury report
Andrew Harding, executive director of ACCA UK, said: ‘We accept that this is only an interim report and that the government has called for further research. But it has missed the opportunity to give a clear signal that it is unacceptable for listed company auditors to provide services such as internal audit, financial and IT systems consultancy for their audit clients.’
The accountancy body however praised the government for its proposals to rotate audit partners every five years. instead of seven years. Although the ACCA does not support mandatory audit firm rotation, it backed the select committee’s proposal to require audit committees to state their reasons for retaining auditors after a five-year term.