ECON committee: Own initiative report on audit policy - lessons from the crisis
06 May 2011
Rapporteur Kay Swinburne (ECR, UK) was inclined to accept the suggestion to maintain audit standards across all sectors including the financial sector. She also noted that auditing should go hand in hand with corporate governance.
Consideration of amendments
Ms Swinburne (ECR, UK) noted that there was a wide range of amendments within the committee reflecting different views on the future of audit. She recommended that suggestions within the final legislative proposal to be presented by the European Parliament to the Commission should be backed up by independent impact assessments. She mentioned that common to all suggested amendments was the need to guarantee a goal of high and consistent level of auditing across all sectors and to increase the number of participants offering audit services, particularly the statutory external audit, without disproportionately increasing the inherent costs for European companies.
During the exchange of views that followed, speakers agreed to focus also on the role of auditors during the crisis, the liability and the rotation of audit companies, joint and external auditing and tendering. [Mr Ferber (EPP, DE), Ms Berès (S&D, FR), Mr Giegold (Greens/EFA, DE), Ms Bowles (ALDE, UK).]
Next Steps:
• Vote at ECON: 9 May 2011.
• Vote at JURI: 29 May 2011.
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