We have published our comment letter on the FRC’s call for feedback on how effective the 2016 changes to ethical and auditing standards have been in delivering high quality audit and whether further steps are now needed to strengthen auditor independence, reduce conflicts, improve quality and preserve trust in independent audit. 

This comes at a critical time. Current perceptions of the audit profession are coloured by a number of high profile corporate failures in the last year, and the Competition and Market Authority's (CMA's) market study together with the Kingman and Brydon reviews are considering options for fundamental change. In many ways, the transformation that these reviews will deliver continues the changes that were heralded by the EU Audit Regulation and Directive – at the time, the revised Ethical Standard and the changes to International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) to reflect these represented some of the most significant regulatory changes to the audit profession for many years. That the current reviews are seen as necessary is not a result of the failure of the 2016 changes - rather it is due to increased societal expectations. 

We have set out our responses to the FRCs detailed questions in the comment letter, which can be downloaded in full below.

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