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UK: Opposition strengthens against CC audit remedies

By  |  August 27, 2013

Opposition strengthened against the UK Competition Commission’s proposed remedies to boost competition in the auditing sector, which is largely dominated by four firms.

The Commission suggested requiring companies to place their auditing up for tender every five years, double the frequency of what the Financial Reporting Council would like to see. The remedies aim to break up the dominance of PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY. The four collectively audit all but one of the FTSE 100 companies.

Now, investors, members of the auditing sector and listed companies are joining in their opposition to the Commission’s proposal. In an open letter to the watchdog, BT director of group financial control Glyn Parry warned that such frequent auditor switch-ups could mean “less thorough, less meaningful” reviews. GlaxoSmithKline sent a similar letter.

The Commission will likely report its final proposal later this year.

Full Content: Accountancy Age

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