DTI report: Firms urged to publish accounts
The government wants audit firms to publish their own annual reports and accounts if they audit companies listed in the UK.
Link: Read the full report on Hewitt’s speech
However, the move is only a voluntary request and comes as part of the Final Report from the Co-ordinating Group on Audit and Accounting Issues delivered by the trade secretary in the House of Commons today.
But Patricia Hewitt warned audit firms that if they do not respond well to the request, the demand could be put on a statutory footing making annual reports a legal requirement.
In all Hewitt said the government was largely happy with the way audit firms and professional bodies have reacted to the challenges presented by the catastrophic collapse of Enron and WorldCom.
Currently only KPMG and Ernst & Young have issued annual reports though PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloittes will follow suit soon.
In the mid-tier very few firms publish annual reports with the notable exception of PKF.