Grant Thornton welcomes EC proposals

30 November 2011

Grant Thornton supports Commissioner Barnier and the European Commission in their efforts to improve the audit and corporate governance framework in the EU as these are key contributors to sustainable growth and a stronger European financial system.

“In all discussions the needs of the investor should be paramount The first responsibility of the auditor is to investors, and they need confidence in information for decision making,” said Grant Thornton International CEO Edward Nusbaum. “M. Barnier has said that “the status quo is not an option”.  Investors have said they want a more vibrant, open and less concentrated market for the audit of large listed companies and to build trust for the independence of the audit profession. The time is right to find solutions to their needs.”

“Maintaining audit quality is critical and, as the CEO of a global accounting organisation with operations in more than 100 countries, I am confident in saying that companies can already obtain high quality audits from a good number of firms throughout Europe and the rest of the world, and these proposals recognise that.”

Grant Thornton is encouraged by the banning of restrictive covenants that artificially limit the choice of auditor, and that proposals for shared audits have been retained in the proposed legislation. We welcome the encouragement for companies to use more than one auditor, but we would like to see the incentives made stronger.

We are very pleased to see proposals for changes in the role of audit committees and  suggestions for improved reporting between audit committees, auditors and investors.

We welcome formal publication of the draft legislation and we expect that the public debate will lead to a package of measures which will inspire trust in the audit market.

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