Audit Market
Following its influential report last year, which has led to the launch by the Competition Commission of an investigation into the British market for large-firm audit, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee will question Mr Jonathan Faull, Director General of Internal Market and Services at the EU Commission, on Tuesday 7 February.
In a one off session, the Committee is expected to ask Mr Faull about the Commission's proposals for changes to the regulation of the audit market in the EU.
Questions are likely to include:
- whether the Commission's proposals will allow new entrants to gain market share from the Big Four audit firms;
- why the Commission's proposals fail to address whether International Financial Reporting Standards(IFRS) should be used in bank audits; and
- why only financial regulators, not the bank auditors, are to be duty bound to ensure regular dialogue, when the Committee found last year that the paucity of dialogue between bank auditors and regulators was a dereliction of duty.
Mr Faull will also face questions about second-tier audit firms being taken over by the Big Four, and the impact of this on the audit market.
The evidence session will take place at 3.30 on Tuesday 7 February in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.
The evidence session is open to media and the public. Please allow time for security screening.
The evidence session will also be broadcast live on Parliament TV.