Audit report proposals vital to reducing the risk of another Carillion

2 April 2019

New proposals made by the House of Commons Business Committee to reform the external audit market will reduce the risk of future corporate collapses like Carillion, BHS and Patisserie Valerie. The Business Committee’s proposals in their ‘Future of audit’ report include separating audit work from other non-audit services and increasing the frequency that external audit contracts come up for renewal.

The Chartered IIA’s submission to the Future of audit inquiry contained recommendations to separate external audit work from non-audit services and make major companies put their external audit contract out to tender every 5-7 years rather than the current 10 year rule.

Dr Ian Peters MBE, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors said:

“The Business Committee is right to call for urgent and radical reform of the external audit market. In particular we welcome the call for the separation of audit work from other non-audit services such as consulting, to raise standards and eliminate potential conflicts of interest. We also welcome the proposal to reform the rules on auditor rotation and increase the frequency that external audit contracts at major companies come up for renewal.

“These changes are fundamental if we are to reduce the risk of future corporate collapses like Carillion, BHS and Patisserie Valerie.”

Notes to editors:

• The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors is the only professional body dedicated exclusively to training, supporting and representing internal auditors in the UK and Ireland.
• We have 10,000 members in all sectors of the economy.
• First established in 1948, we obtained our Royal Charter in 2010.
• Over 2,000 members are Chartered Internal Auditors and have earned the designation CMIIA.
• About 1,000 of our members hold the position of head of internal audit and the majority of FTSE 100 companies are represented among our membership.
• Members are part of a global network of 200,000 members in 170 countries, all working to the same International Standards and Code of Ethics.