About: audit reform

EU seals agreement on audit sector shake-up

Proposals forcing companies to change accountants every ten years were agreed yesterday (17 December) as part of a wider EU package to reform the audit sector.

EU talks on auditor switching put on hold

Negotiations on a European Union draft law forcing companies to switch accountants about every 10 years are on hold due to disagreements over other planned curbs on auditors, an EU lawmaker said on Wednesday (4 December).

Deal on company auditing edging closer: EU lawmaker

The European Union could be less than a month away from a deal forcing the bloc's listed companies to change their accountant every decade, a senior EU lawmaker said on Monday (25 November).

UK regulator wants 10-year tenders for audit firms

The UK’s Competition Commission yesterday (15 October) published a report on the competitiveness of the audit market broadly chiming with changes currently under debate at European level.

Parliament to challenge international accounting standards

EXCLUSIVE / MEPs later this month will ask the European Commission to overhaul auditing standards for European companies and banks in a move likely to challenge the accounting profession and stir US-European relations.

MEPs dilute audit reform rules

European Union plans forcing companies to change accountants regularly were watered down on Thursday (25 April), providing some relief for the "Big Four" auditors that check most large company books.

Battle brewing over new rules for auditors

Proposed restrictions on auditing firms are likely to spark a fight between the European Parliament and Commission as legislators finalise a report on the issue next month.

Big audit firms await UK judgment

The "Big Four" accounting firms should find out this week how their grip on Britain's audit market could be loosened in a ruling Europe and the United States will scrutinise.

Top audit firms brace for new UK, EU rules

PricewaterhouseCoopers held the top spot in rankings for accounting income last year, a sector where fees are being squeezed by increased regulatory scrutiny and competition, according to an industry survey published on Wednesday (30 January).

UK’s Europe ‘audit’: True debate or eurosceptic vote-winning ‘ploy’?

The statement from British Foreign Secretary William Hague that his government would conduct a full "audit" of the impact of EU law on Britain has been condemned by commentators as a mere public relations stunt. But the coalition government has defended it as a chance for constructive debate on the role of the EU institutions at national level.

Audit urges stronger enforcement of organic foods

Consumers who are willing to pay extra for organic fruits, vegetables and other goods may not always get what they are hoped for due to lax oversight in some EU countries.

Commission braced for battle with big audit firms

The European Commission has set itself on collision course with the largest audit companies with its proposed regulation that will radically overhaul the management and structure of the service sector, despite controversial plans for joint auditing being dropped.

Brussels to announce audit sector shake-up

The European Commission will clarify tomorrow (30 November) the details of a plan that is aimed at profoundly changing the way audits are carried out in the 27-nation bloc, EURACTIV has learned.

Digital cloud providers face EU privacy audits

The European Commission believes it is only "logical" that companies providing cloud services over the Internet face audits on whether they are keeping their promises on personal data security. 

Brussels mulls shake-up of Big Four auditors

The "Big Four" global auditors could be broken up, leaving them susceptible to takeovers if radical European Union plans to boost competition go ahead, a UK auditing official said yesterday (27 September).

Germans reject Commission’s audit proposals

Key German decision-makers last week (5 May) rejected the scope and content of a planned radical overhaul of corporate governance rules affecting auditors, due to be launched by the European Commission later this year.

Commission mulls auditing sector shake-up

The European Commission said on Wednesday (13 October) that it would propose a reform of the auditing sector next year after the financial crisis uncovered failings in how it operated.

Auditors highlight EU funds’ risk exposure

European Commission departments should cooperate more closely in spreading funding across a range of financial institutions to reduce the EU executive’s exposure to risk in the event of banking failures, found a report released yesterday (16 June) by the European Court of Auditors.

‘Disappointment’ as auditors reject EU accounts

The majority of payments made by the EU in 2007 were regular, according to a report published on 10 November. But some members of the European Parliament have expressed 'acute disappointment' after auditors failed to sign off the EU accounts for the fourteenth consecutive year, identifying errors in two to five percent of payments made to the bloc's member states.

EU accounts rejected for 13th consecutive year

Auditors have failed to sign off the EU's accounts for the 13th year in a row, criticising most major areas of its expenditure.

Commission plans to cap auditors’ liability

Brussels has presented options on how to protect large auditing firms from unrestricted liability claims as companies increasingly seek legal redress in the wake of the 2002 Enron scandal.

EU beefs up independence of company audits

To underpin the confidence in capital markets the Council has strengthened the quality and independece of auditing of company accounts.

Corporate Governance

The collapse of Enron in the US and European scandals such as those revolving around Dutch retailer Ahold and Italian agri-food giant Parmalat, all in 2003, forced the issues of corporate governance and financial reporting to the fore in the EU. The Commission therefore began to systematically address these issues through its company law and financial services policies.