Andersen chief outlines US audit changes
Andersen global CEO Joe Berardino today attempted to restore faith in the battered firm after outlining additional steps to reform its US audit practice, following the Enron debacle.
The reforms include the firm working with the management and the audit committee of every publicly traded US audit client to establish an acceptable level of fees for non-audit services Andersen will continue to provide.
The firm will also commit to reporting to audit committees more comprehensively than currently required, with reports to include quality of results, industry comparisons and performance indicators.
‘The changes we have announced are meaningful, significant and helpful,’ Berardino said. ‘But with the accounting profession in crisis, we all need to do something more fundamental. We must transform both the ways in which auditors conduct and report audits, and the ways in which companies reporttheir financial results.’
Berardino added Andersen will implement the reforms quickly and withoutwaiting for regulatory or legislative mandates.
Today’s announcement follows the news that former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker is to head an Independent Oversight Board with authority to mandate changes in Andersen’s auditing processes, a move the firm hopes will also restore public faith in the firm.