Fund manager in favour of unlimited liability
A leading fund manager says there is a reasonable case for unlimited liability for auditors, despite pleas from Big Four firms for a cap.
Barings case could usher in proportional liability
Morley Fund Management, which manages £110bn worth of assets, said it had ‘grave concerns’ about plans by the Big Four to limit their liability to prevent multi-billion pound legal claims, the FT reported.
It added that any reduction of auditor liability could undermine the audit framework in the UK, which it said was an important part of investor protection.
The Big Four has warned that a lawsuit resulting in one of the firms being destroyed, as happened to Andersen over Enron, would force the other three to pull out of audit completely.
But Morley said this could then open the market to a broader range of audit firms, increasing the competition and the pool of sector experience.