EU rules on statutory audits finally approved

EU rules on statutory audits finally approved

EU Council of Ministers accepts all European Parliament amendments to proposed directive

European Union (EU) rules on statutory audits have been approved by the EU
Council of Ministers, which has accepted all European Parliament amendments to a
proposed directive.

These had dealt with criticisms that the legislation would be
over-bureaucratic by insisting that all public companies have a separate audit
committee to deal with such work. MEPs killed this idea with exemptions, and now
the Council has buried it.

Ministers approved the final shape of the directive on Tuesday (25-4), making
no further changes to its text. It will, said a Council statement, ‘reinforce
the reliability of company financial statements by establishing minimum
requirements for statutory audit of annual accounts and consolidated accounts’.

Many reforms to be introduced via the directive have been designed to
guarantee the independence of auditors and avoid conflict-of-interest scandals.

The legislation says, for instance that each EU statutory auditor and audit
firm must be identified in a regularly-updated electronic public register.

Entries must name audit firm owners and managers, and note information on any
network membership. The directive also insists that a statutory auditor or an
audit firm must be independent from their audit clients. Also, statutory
auditors and audit firms must be subjected to independent quality assurance.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource