FRC changes audit rules
COMPANIES will have to put their contract for a new auditor out to tender once every decade or explain why they have not, under new proposed corporate reporting rules published yesterday.
But the Financial Reporting Council scrapped plans to stop companies printing hard copies of annual reports as part of the overhaul, after opposition from private investors.
The FRC said companies’ audit committees should be more involved in financial reports, and provide information currently included by auditors, to make their reports more relevant for investors.
The move to force all listed companies to change their auditor every ten years, while a significant change, was less severe than had been feared.
Companies change their auditor so infrequently the Office of Fair Trading plans to refer the UK audit market to the Competition Commission.