Anticipating much-needed reform in the UK Audit Industry
How should counsel prepare for reforms due to be made in the wake of recent high-profile company collapses in the UK, and what are the wider implications for businesses?
Almost two decades after the Enron scandal and Arthur Andersen collapse brought sweeping regulatory reform to the US audit profession, the UK is now taking major strides in a similar direction.
Recent scandals in the UK, such as Thomas Cook Group, Carillion and BHS, to name a few, have put auditor independence and audit quality firmly back at the top of the agenda, particularly in the Big Four firms. When the wave of post-Enron scandals stirred similar questions in the US, the result was the establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), additional regulation of auditors and tightened rules around selling non-audit services to audit clients. Structural reforms such as these could create new legal obligations for audit firms and businesses in the UK.
What will this mean for counsel to both UK audit firms and businesses?
In their briefing for The Lawyer, FRA Partner Carol Der Garry and Director Weng Yee Ng discuss how counsel should prepare for reforms due to be made in the wake of recent high-profile company collapses in the UK, and consider the wider implications for businesses.
