@ Accountancy Age: An Opinion Piece On The US Audit Reform Debate

I’ve written an opinion piece for Accountancy Age comparing the auditor reform debate in the US – what there is – to the active debate in the UK.

Here’s an excerpt:

In the US, the Big Four leadership is noticeably absent from any public conversation of audit or audit industry reform. It’s hard enough for reporters to get them to respond to actual litigation or other less positive news about the industry. No comment or a bland formulaic response about complying with all standards and doing quality work is the norm.

We do see the Big Four global chairmen savor the attention showered on them as bobble-head world-leader savants at Davos. There’s always a full retinue of interviews by clueless journalists in reindeer sweaters who can barely pronounce IFRS and PCAOB, let alone ask probing questions about the role of either. In addition, the audit firms do lobby strenuously by spending time and money on monitoring and influencing legislation, but that work is done under the radar. They loathe any attention to it.

Read the rest at Accountancy Age.