Irish accountants face world’s toughest regime

Irish accountants face world's toughest regime

The Irish accountancy profession has given a lukewarm reaction to proposals announced this week for a new 'oversight board' to supervise audit and accountancy and guard against malpractice.

The new body, which will end self-regulation by the profession, has been proposed by a review group reporting to the Dail’s public accounts committee yesterday.

It was led by Senator Joe O’Toole, and its formation resulted from a wide range of financial scandals which have rocked Irish political and economic life.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland said yesterday: ‘The implementation of the proposals would create in Ireland probably the toughest regulatory regime in the world for auditors and company directors and the proposals will have to be carefully assessed for their impact on business competitiveness and internationally and on the attractiveness of Ireland in the global marketplace.’

Roger Acton, Head of ACCA Ireland, was more welcoming. He said: ‘The oversight board appears to be a serious attempt to deal with previous failures in regulation and is welcome for a variety of reasons.’

But he expressed concerns about ‘proportionality’, and called for a ‘lighter tough’ for small companies.

The T naiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney TD, said she intended in the Autumn to consider representations made to her on the proposals and to bring a package of proposals to government for early decision.

Detailed reaction from ACCA can be found at A step in the right direction

New proposals for regulator in Ireland

Irish government reaction can be found at http://www.entemp.ie/pressrel/110700.htm

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